What is the best fisher in the animal kingdom?
Judged on catching fish, not on looking good doing it. That distinction moves at least one famous name a long way down.
1OrcaHunts in coordinated pods and teaches herring-herding techniques between generations.1000pts
2OspreyA fish specialist with reversible outer toes and a strike success rate above one in four.927pts
3African Fish EagleThe voice of Africa's lakes, and a close relative of the bald eagle with the same habits.877pts
4Fishing CatA South Asian wild cat with partly webbed feet that dives after fish.800pts
5Grizzly BearStands in a waterfall and takes salmon out of the air during the run.600pts
6Sea OtterCarries a favourite rock in an armpit pouch to break open shellfish.600pts
7Great Blue HeronStands motionless for minutes, then spears with a strike faster than the eye follows.600pts
8Common Bottlenose DolphinUses mud-ring feeding, beach-stranding and cooperation with human fishermen in Brazil.466pts
9Common KingfisherDives from a perch and corrects for water refraction before it hits the surface.466pts
10Great CormorantSwims down after fish; trained cormorants have fished Japanese and Chinese rivers for centuries.466pts
11Northern GannetFolds its wings and enters the water at a hundred kilometres an hour.466pts
12Bald EagleCatches its own fish, and also waits for an osprey to catch one first.300pts
13Brown PelicanThe only pelican that plunge-dives, hitting the water from up to twenty metres.300pts
14ArcherfishShoots a jet of water to knock insects off overhanging leaves, adjusting for refraction.300pts
15Humpback WhaleBlows a spiral of bubbles to trap a whole school, then swallows it in one lunge.300pts
Comments
Ospreys catch the fish. Bald eagles sometimes wait for them to finish and take it, which is how this list gets awkward: https://youpick.best/articles/bald-eagle-ranked-many-ways
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