Surprising alliances are not uncommon in nature, but the partnership between coyotes and badgers makes you wonder: how did two predators competing for prey become partners? This ancient interaction, documented by Native Americans, reveals surprising survival strategies.
A History of Partnership: From Prairie to Science 
Coyotes and badgers have been observed cooperating for centuries. Native Americans described their joint hunts long before Europeans arrived, and modern scientists have confirmed the phenomenon. For example, in the Elk National Wildlife Refuge (Wyoming), researchers found that 90% of hunting duets are one coyote and one badger, 9% are one badger and two coyotes. Only 1% of cases are three coyotes and a badger.
These data, published in the journal Mammalogy, show that the partnership is systematic and mutually beneficial.
Why do predators team up? 
Coyotes and badgers hunt the same rodents - prairie dogs, gophers, rabbits. But their methods are opposite. The coyote is fast and agile, stalks prey on the surface, and the badger is a master of digging, driving victims out of their holes.
How it works:
The coyote drives rodents, forcing them to hide in holes.
The badger digs the ground, blocking escape routes.
The prey, escaping from one predator, falls into the clutches of another.
“It’s like a team game: one plays tag, the other plays hide-and-seek,” environmentalists joke.
Why don’t they share the prey? 
It would seem that after a successful hunt, a conflict should begin. As studies show, coyotes often catch prey on the surface, while badgers get the "underground" part.
Although they do not share food, joint hunting increases the chances of success for both. Scientists have calculated that in a duet, coyotes catch 34% of prey, badgers - 28%, while alone their efficiency is lower.
The alliance of coyotes and badgers is not eternal. In winter, their paths diverge. Badgers hibernate lightly or hunt rodents sleeping in burrows. Coyotes switch to other prey, such as deer.
"It's an open relationship," biologists joke. In the spring, the predators unite again, demonstrating amazing flexibility of behavior
Why can't prey outsmart them? 
Rodents use different strategies against each predator:
They run into burrows from coyotes.
They jump to the surface from badgers.
But when they attack together, these tricks stop working.
Cooperation increases the vulnerability of prey. It's brilliant and ruthless.
Without predators, prairie dogs would destroy vegetation.
A duet of coyotes and badgers keeps the prairies healthy.
Coyotes and badgers have proven that even competitors can become allies for survival. Their partnership is a lesson in efficiency, adaptation, and natural wisdom.
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