Sea snakes call on friends for an intense hunt — fascinating clip captures brilliant 'teamwork'

While we often witness animals hunting alone, a few sea creatures have learned to attack their prey with a strategic team-based approach. These cooperative hunts are not just limited to members of the same species, but can also involve different types of animals working together towards a common goal. One perfect example involves sea kraits, yellow goatfish, and giant bluefin trevally, which have been observed to take part in planned hunting. 

In a clip shared by Nature on PBS, this remarkable hunting alliance is captured in detail. The footage shows black-banded sea kraits swimming in the coral-rich seas of Indonesia in search of food. The venomous snakes glide effortlessly between rocks and crevices in an attempt to catch prey. While these creatures are known for their agility and precision, their slow speed often ruins their plans of catching fish. This is when the yellow goatfish and especially bluefin trevally join to form an effective hunting trio. 

The clip continues with the snakes swimming and flicking their tongues to smell their prey in the sea. They move slowly and carefully around the seabed, and this is when the yellow goatfish and bluefin trevally enter. The strategic plan of hunting then begins as the big fish scare the prey and force them to hide in the small cracks of the rocks, which the sleek snakes can enter and attack. There isn't much fight for survival since the prey has no means to escape anymore. All the species hunt for the same prey, so the team's attempt ensures everyone goes back happy and satisfied. 

As the snakes get a hold of the prey in the cracks, the bigger fish quickly seize any smaller fish that try to escape from the crevices, turning them into an easy meal. A reporter, along with his partner, also shared his experience of this phenomenonal teamwork, while working in the Banda Sea, Indonesia, under the BBC Natural History Unit. "As we entered the water, there were 20 to 30 snakes with vast numbers of trevallies hunting in beautiful shallow water conditions. It was game on! Snakes were frantically swimming with the trevallies, all throwing themselves towards the coral head where their prey desperately tried to hide. It was hectic! As they kept changing sites, I swam for what seemed like miles back and forth to keep up with the action, trying to anticipate their next movements." 

According to a study by Nature, while the majority of snakes are known for hunting as a sole ranger, that is not the case for the black-banded sea kraits, which always hunt in bigger groups. Furthermore, cooperative hunting means animals pay attention to each other and work together, which requires some intelligence. Usually, group hunting involves each animal trying to catch food on its own. But with Erabu sea kraits, they seem to take turns and watch each other, suggesting real teamwork. Sometimes, this helps them catch more food, but not always. It’s also possible that hunting together helps with social bonding or safety, not just catching prey.