Apex predator facts for kids

The lion is Africa's apex land predator.

Apex predators are predators with no natural predators of their own. They are at the top of their food chain.

Apex predators have big effects on the animals and plants lower down the food chain. If they become extinct in an area, many changes happen. In recent times, it is often humans who have removed top predators.

An example of apex predators affecting an ecosystem is in Yellowstone National Park. After the gray wolf was reintroduced, in 1995, researchers noticed big changes occurring in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Elk, the primary prey of the gray wolf, became less abundant and changed their behavior. This freed the riparian (river) zones from constant grazing. This allowed willows, aspens, and cottonwoods to grow, so creating a habitat for beaver, moose, and scores of other species. In addition to the effects on prey species, the gray wolf's presence also affected the park's grizzly bear, a vulnerable species. The bears, emerging from hibernation, chose to scavenge off wolf kills after fasting for months. They can also eat wolf kills in autumn to prepare for hibernation. As grizzly bears give birth during hibernation, a greater food supply may improve the mother’s nutrition and increase the number of cubs. Dozens of other species, including eagles, ravens, magpies, coyotes, and black bears, have been seen scavenging from wolf kills.

Images for kids

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  The saltwater crocodile is the largest living reptile and the dominant predator throughout its range.

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  The great skua is an aerial apex predator, both preying on other seabirds and bullying them for their catches.

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  The wolf is both an apex predator and a keystone species, affecting its prey's behaviour and the wider ecosystem.

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  Humans sometimes live by hunting other animals for food and materials such as fur, sinew, and bone, as in this walrus hunt in the Arctic, but their status as apex predators is debated.

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  Anomalocaris was an apex predator in the Cambrian seas.

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  Dogs have been used in hunting for many centuries, as in this 14th century French depiction of a boar hunt.

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  The reintroduction of predators like the lynx is attractive to conservationists, but alarming to farmers.

See also

In Spanish: Superdepredador para niños