Wild Things: Life as We Know It
Hungry snakes, giant kangaroos, bat noses, and more
![Giant kangaroo](https://th-thumbnailer.cdn-si-edu.com/eoFYBXARK54FAzDn9a5Zjhv7sQI=/1000x750/filters:no_upscale()/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer/Kangaroo-hop-631-2.jpg)
Didn't Hop Fast Enough
![giant kangaroo](https://th-thumbnailer.cdn-si-edu.com/Q472Z60_EGnrN7Kq6Pga7YcV1uk=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer/Kangaroo-hop-520.jpg)
Web of Lies
![Spider Web](https://th-thumbnailer.cdn-si-edu.com/DZDMVqVPml6SfiP1mZrIMZO4-6c=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer/Orb-spiders-520.jpg)
Learn more about the decoy-making orb spider at the Encyclopedia of Life.
Nose Job
![Horseshoe Bat](https://th-thumbnailer.cdn-si-edu.com/H1kuUX6tl-B8QG2ASKFZO7oK_tc=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer/Horse-shoe-bat-520.jpg)
Learn more about the horseshoe bat at the Encyclopedia of Life.
Parasite Protection
![Ecuadorean rain forest plant](https://th-thumbnailer.cdn-si-edu.com/NoD9iNGVV7CdTkSgRiaBcWkraCk=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer/Ecuadorean-rain-forest-520.jpg)
Learn more about Caladium steudneriifolium at the Encyclopedia of Life.
Observed
![Tentacled Snake](https://th-thumbnailer.cdn-si-edu.com/rM3fOdTAhRIIsgbgCWvqGlglSoQ=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer/tentacled-snake-520.jpg)
Hunts: In the J position.
Exploits: The C-start.
Eats: With very little effort, says Kenneth Catania of Vanderbilt University. When fish perceive a threat, they reflexively turn away and their bodies form a C, known as a C-start. The J position is the stance a hungry E. tentaculatus assumes (1) with its head at the lower end of the J. If a fish swims by, the snake flexes its body (2) scaring the fish into forming a C and landing it in the snake's mouth (3). It's a rare case of a predator exploiting its prey's best defense.
Learn more about the tentacled snake at the Encyclopedia of Life.