In the animal kingdom it’s kill or be killed. The environment is unforgiving and animals have learned to adapt for optimal survival. Often times their capabilities in hunting can be savage. But that’s what makes them top predators. Here are just of few of these precisionists.

Orcas

They are the wolves of the sea. Often times hunting in “packs” they will ambush their prey with a methodic voraciousness. Orcas are usually known to hunt young whales by separating them from their mothers. They will pursue the pair, exhausting them until the calf becomes weakened. Once the calf becomes separated, it often times drowns from exhausting; whereby the Orcas will then consume the calf. Sometimes they will subdue sea lions by slapping them with their tails or head-butting them. They’ve been known to beach a sea lion, and then pounce on it, taking it back into the waters. What seems like play, as they toss the body of a sea lion in the air, is often a form of disabling the animal. These systematic hunters can consume 500 pounds in one day.

Piranha

These guys mean business. From the moment they are born, they are ready to kill. Once they are large enough, they will hunt in groups of 20 or more. Sometimes they will begin to eat their victim before it’s had a chance to breathe its last breath. They have even been known to eat their own young. If particularly ravenous, they can down a sick cattle within minutes.

Polar Bears

They are the largest land predators, capable of consuming 100 pounds of meat in a day. They will sometimes stalk their prey, being able to smell them a mile away. Sometimes they will wait patiently at a seal’s breathing hole and pounce on it when it comes up for air. It will then either sink its jaws into the seal’s head or give it a good whack with its paw before going in for the kill. 

Wolverine

It may be small, only weighing between 15-30 pounds. However, they are one of the most powerful predators in the world. Their jaws are powerful enough to crush through bone to get to the marrow. They have been known to hunt prey larger than themselves, like weakened moose. These vicious little guys will savagely defend its meal against wolves and bears, even to the death. Its scientific name is Gulo gulo, meaning glutton. It will eat anything it can find, being an opportunistic eater.

Tasmanian Devil

It is a ferocious feeder. While it’s mainly a carrion eater, it is capable of taking down a wallaby. Weighing between 13-18 pounds, they can eat up to 40% of their body weight in 30 minutes if opportunity knocks. So nasty is their temper, that often times they will attack without being provoked, hence the name “devil”. They can devour all traces of its meal, including bone, fur, and internal organs. They are so fast in their consumption of food, that Tasmanian farmers are grateful for them. The speed at which the Tasmanian devils eat, reduces the spread of insects, which can be harmful to livestock.

Komodo Dragon

They are fierce killers. Using a method called lurk and lurch, they will lay in wait for their prey along game paths. When the prey is within reach, the komodo will lunge at it. If the animal is larger than the komodo, it will rip at its hamstring, then going for its throat and stomach. If they prey is small, the komodo will go for the neck and stomach. They will disembowel their prey to get at the insides. Komodo will eat everything of its prey, form the fur to the hoofs. There’s nothing it won’t eat, even already dead food. And if its bite doesn’t get you, then its bacteria ridden saliva will.

Great White

It is a formidable hunter, sometimes stalking its hunt. Using its natural instinct to catch its meal, this bad boy has honed its skills. Never knowing when it’s going to catch its next meal, a Great White will rely on its survival to be quick and decisive. Since this shark is so massive, it must rely on the art of surprise. By staking out its favorite hunting grounds, it uses stealth and brute force to obtain its goal. By sneaking up from behind, the Great White swims at high speeds, often times propelling itself and its prey out of the water. It will use this strategy to disorient its prey. The Great White will then take massive bites out of its meal, swallowing the huge chunks to satiate its hunger until the next meal arrives. Sometimes it will just take a bite out of its prey, waiting for it to bleed to death, before coming back to it.

Peregrine Falcon

It is the fastest animal in the world, reaching speeds of over 200 mph. It will hunt small mammals and even other birds. It has a notch at the tip of its beak, which is capable of severing the spinal column of its prey at the neck. When the falcon has spotted its potential prey, usually a bird, it will circle above it. It will then dive at the bird, striking at it in mid-air, either stunning or killing it. It will then carry of its prey, and pluck it before devouring it.