Animals - natural self defense mechanism

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I just remembered that I saw on one of those Richard Attenborough bird documentaries that some birds will "mob up" on a predator bird going after their eggs and crap on him/her until he is so soggy that he can't fly and will possibly be killed by the next four-footed critter which comes by.

Or at least it immobilizes him.

As I recall, they start on the predator bird while he is still flying and he sooner or later flames out and hits the ground, where they continue the bombardment.

Norden Bombsight? We doan need no steenkin' Norden Bombsight!

Can anyone confirm/amplify my recollection of this?

There's also "swooping Magpies," where during the incubation season, they get pretty aggressive about anyone approaching their territory, to the extent that, eg., in Australia, they have to put up signs on Park trails warning people about Magpies swooping them. People have to carry umbrellas and some wear hats with eyes painted on the back to avoid this Magpie defense mechanism.

Sometimes I think if TEOTWAWKI ever occurs, the only survivors will be cockroaches and Magpies.
 

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For THR the bullet ant seems appropriate.

In sort of a anti weapon response, geckos leave a chunk of themselves behind and run away.


And my personal favorite the three toed Brady sloth. Whenever it encounters a predator, the sloth tries to give it a firm but gentle hug, using its superior intellect to realize that the predator is probably just misunderstood and never had a break growing up.
 
good idea with the firearms and natural adaptation comparison.

what is the skunk without its musk
or a lion without its teeth and claw?

take these god given tools away and the animal is at the mercy of anything or anyone who comes along. it can no longer protect itself, it can only run away and cower in fear...

im shure we have all heard of (or maybe seen) skunks turning away bears with their musk. think about this, an approximately 15lb animal turning away a 500lb grizzly bear.

compare this to a 120lb woman turning away a 250lb rapist with a handgun...
 
Certain snakes, like the rubber boas of California, have short, blunt tails that look almost identical to the head. When threatened by a predator, these snakes present their tails in such a manner that the tail is exposed while the head is hidden safely beneath the snake's body. But the predator that bites the-tail-that-looks-like-a-head is in for an unpleasant surprise. The boa squirts a foul smelling liquid from the tail region that would make any predator lose its appetite.

http://www.uga.edu/srelherp/ecoview/Eco20.htm
 
The female of the species is the deadlier of the two - Kipling

Male peacocks are the ones with huge plumage to impress the female.

Male peacocks are strutting around with all that plumage to "one up" over other male peacocks at the same as well.

Predators know the male peacock with this plumage is more vulnerable.
To much weight, along with hindering other defensive mechanisms peacocks have.

Female use the male peacock, and one tool is letting him draw attention thereby allowing her to stay more safe.

Female peacocks "use" the male, and I mean in the context of taking advantage of the male.
 
Spurs on rooster pheasants & gobblers. Pack instincts in canine species, plus, tho not defensive, their hair loosens when stressed allowing them to avoid a bite.
 
Wow, that coral warfare stuff is pretty cool. I've never heard of it before.

I still like the Bombardier Beetle.

beetle%20spray.jpg
 
Packman's suggestion of the stingray was really good. It's unfortunately received a lot of press recently thanks to the late Steve Irwin.
 
I thought "octopus" ink was actually squid ink?

IMO, snakes use venom primarily to disable prey. Defense might be secondary.

There are species of snake that are non-poisonous but do their best to act poisonous and are actually more aggressive than their poisonous cousins.

Herd instincts of many animals is a defense against predators.

I have heard that vultures will vomit on you if you mess with them or shoot at them. I have never attempted to test that.
 
I have killed a few armadillos, but I have never seen one roll into a ball. They have always tried to run or bolt down a hole. Their claws are a better defense than their armor. Also, considering that armadillos are prey for every major predator species in the US, their defenses are not very good. They are slow, blind, and deaf. Even an unskilled guy like me can sneak up on one and outrun it.

I would say that excessive breeding is another weapon that is not mentioned. That works for armadillos, mice, rabbits, and other animals.
 
We were given our brains as weapons. Firearms are only tool's.
Click to expand...

Best statement I've heard. We don't have natural defenses...claws, teeth, barbs, stink glands. So we have to fashion tools to defend ourselves.

Otherwise we'd get eaten by a pack of hungry housecats.

I look at it this way. DNA wants to survive, so living things on the planet have defense mechanisms. We have our brains. All we can really do is fashion tools and change the environment around us to suit our needs, unlike animals that change to suit their environment.
 
Viceroy Butterfly

The Viceroy butterfly (very tasty) disquises himself to look just like the bitter Monarch Butterfly.

Baby rattle snakes have venom from the time of hatching.

My mom told me that my birth was particularly difficult 'cause I came out with a Ruger .357Mag. in one hand and my Remington 870 Wingmaster in the other.
- Never have gotten rid of either. -
 
To fill in on the firearms being tools part...

Look at monkeys... They will grab and throw things (including feces) at predators while screamign and squalling at the tops of their lungs... Similar to what man y humans do when confronted with a "predator" of the 2 legged kind...
 
Best statement I've heard. We don't have natural defenses...claws, teeth, barbs, stink glands. So we have to fashion tools to defend ourselves.
Click to expand...

That's not really true at all. Humans, even unarmed are fairly hard targets.

Can a single human take on a lion barehanded? No. But, aside from the other top level predators and very large animals there are few animals that pose a real threat to an unarmed human. There are few animals that can survive a human attack, even barehanded.

If I have to fight one of those vicious humans, I sure as heck want a gun to do it with.
 
Hahah, what might be interesting is to split the animal kingdom into categories based on their defense mechanisms.

Gun owner type animals:
Lion
Stingray
Wolverine

Brady type animals:
Possum
Pufferfish
Cow
 
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