An Analysis of Some Predatory Behaviour Patterns in Four Species of Carnivorous Marsupials (Dasyuridae), with Comparative Notes on the Eutherian Cat Felis catus

Two aspects of predatory behaviour in five species of carnivorous mammals were studied: four species (Dasyurus viverrinus, Dasyurus hallucatus, Dasyuroides byrnei and Phascogale tapoatafa) of a group of Australian marsupials, Dasyuridae, and an eutherian, the domestic cat, Felis catus. All data were collected from captive animals in laboratory conditions. Using sequences of predatory behaviour recorded on movie film, two aspects of predation were compared: (a) attack strategy, that is, the behavioural patterns leading up to biting the prey, and (2) head shaking movements used during killing. All individual predators of all species but Dasyuroides byrnei exhibited avoidance of attacking prey from the front. Indeed, two of the four individual Dasyuroides used not only did not avoid frontal attack but selected to do so even when attacks from the rear or side were possible (e.g., the prey sat unmoving in the centre of the enclosure). Frontal attacks by Dasyuroides involved the use of the forepaws to grasp and pin prey, and the directing of killing bites to the head. These two behaviour patterns are also present in the other three species of dasyurids. Therefore, the frontal attack employed by this species does not involve the use of novel behaviour patterns. Analysis of head shakes revealed two basic forms. From a downward pointing position the head was rotated in one of two ways: the snout traversed an arc in space, as seen in Felis catus and Dasyurus hallucatus, or the sagittal crest traversed an arc in space, as seen in the other three species of dasyurids. When the prey is held down by the forepaws, either form of head shake enhances penetration of the canines into the prey, whereas, when not held down by the forepaws, both forms of head shake can disorient prey, enabling subsequent killing bites to be applied.