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Sunday, March 31, 2013

Design A Perfect Predator

There is an information board at one end of the Malayan Tiger exhibit at the San Diego Zoo that explains what makes tigers such exceptional predators.  The display is titled Design a Perfect Predator.  Here's the text, with a few pictures to illustrate.

Build a big, muscular cat.



Arm it with the largest canine teeth of any land carnivore, to grip its prey.



Set the eyes far back in the skull, for a wide field of vision.



Make the ears turn like radar dishes to capture sound, and add keen smell.





Use whiskers for feelers in dim light.



Make the claws retract for silent footsteps.



For an extra long stride in a sprint, thrust the back feet ahead of the front.



Finally, ridge the tongue to scrape meat from bones.



Okay, so Conner didn't really have to work all that hard to get this rabbit, but it does work to illustrate the story.


   

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San Diego, California, United States
About me . . . When I'm not working I like to be out exploring and photographing. I do this blog just for fun, and to be able to share these images with friends. I hope you enjoy viewing these images as much as I enjoyed creating them.

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All of the content and images on this site (c) Frank B. Baiamonte. If you would like to use any of these images please contact me via email at frank@frankbaiamonte.com to discuss terms of usage. Note that images from the San Diego Zoo and Safari Park are not available for commercial usage. You can also see more on my Instagram page @frankbaiamonte.

Header image: Cibola National Wildlife Refuge, Cibola, Arizona. End image: Downtown San Diego, California skyline from Coronado Island. Profile picture: Craters of the Moon National Monument, Idaho, by Heather Baiamonte.