Joanne Mattern - Perfect Predators

2013 Rourke Educational Media All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without permission in writing from the publisher. www.rourkeeducationalmedia.com PHOTO CREDITS: : Tammy Fullum; Edited by Precious McKenzie Cover Design by Renee Brady Interior Design by Cory Davis Library of Congress PCN Data Perfect Predators / Joanne Mattern
(Eye to Eye with Animals)
ISBN 978-1-61810-118-1 (hard cover) (alk. paper)
ISBN 978-1-61810-251-5 (soft cover)
Library of Congress Control Number: 2011944409 Rourke Educational Media
Printed in the United States of America,
North Mankato, Minnesota rourkeeducationalmedia.com
customerservice@rourkeeducationalmedia.com PO Box 643328 Vero Beach, Florida 32964 A is an animal that hunts and eats other animals. Predators are born to kill! Some predators are big and strong. Others are small.

All of them have powerful tools that help them be perfect predators. BIG AND BAD The polar bear is the largest predator on land. A polar bear weighs up to 1,540 pounds (700 kilograms). Predators have special body parts that help them hunt and kill their quickly. JaguarBlack wolf FEW TEETH,
MANY TEETH A wolf has 42 teeth to last its whole life. If a wolf loses a tooth, another one will not grow back.

Reptiles and sharks, however, can grow new teeth. A crocodile can go through 3,000 teeth during its lifetime. Birds of prey use their feet as weapons. Their feet have powerful claws called Predators play an important role in the food chain. They keep small animal and insect populations under control. Predators usually capture the slowest or weakest animals from a group.

So, they weed out the weak animals of a species. This means that only the strongest of a species survives. WATCH THOSE TALONS! The Harpy eagle has the largest talons of any bird. These talons can be up to 2-1/2 inches (6-1/2 centimeters) long and are strong enough to kill adult monkeys. Some animals use poison as a weapon. Poisonous snakes inject , wasps use their poison stingers, and spiders have a venomous bite.

They all kill their prey using their poison. INSECTS WITH A TWIST Many insects bite, but only bees, ants, and wasps sting. A spider-hunting wasp can sting and kill a spider many times its size.

Cats are some of the strongest predators in the world. There are 36 species of wild cats. All of them are A cats body is built to kill.

Its jaws are short and powerful. It has sharp teeth that can grab and tear prey.

	LENGTH: 5-8 feet (1.5-2.4 m) WEIGHT: 330-500 lbs (150-227 kg) LIFE SPAN: 10-14 years RANGE: Africa
	LENGTH: 6 feet (1.8 m) WEIGHT: 110-140 lbs (50-64 kg) LIFE SPAN: 10-12 years RANGE: Africa
	LENGTH: 4-9 feet (1.4-2.8 m) WEIGHT: 400-675 lbs (181-306 kg) LIFE SPAN: 10-15 years RANGE: Southeast Asia, China, far eastern Russia
	LENGTH: 3.5-5.5 feet (1-1.7 m) WEIGHT: 110-180 lbs (50-82 kg) LIFE SPAN: 12-25 years RANGE: North and South America
	LENGTH: 5-8 feet (1.7-2.4 m) WEIGHT: 100-250 lbs (45-113 kg) LIFE SPAN: 15-20 years RANGE: Central and South America
	LENGTH: 3-6 feet (.91-1.8 m) WEIGHT: 82-200 lbs (37-91 kg) LIFE SPAN: Up to 20 years