Pound for pound, cats are the deadliest mammalian predators on Earth. Unlike wolves and coyotes, they kill from ambush. They wait along game trails or track prey’s scent until they get close, then move ahead and set up. Once in position, they pounce from behind. They grab the prey around the neck and either snap the spinal column or clamp their jaws around the trachea, suffocating the hapless victim. Often, they will begin to eat the prey while it is still semi-conscious, beginning with the abdomen and working their way into the chest cavity. Nature is neither sympathetic, nor kind.
Watch this amazing video captured on a night vision trail camera in California. Just like a house cat after a mouse, this mountain lion twitches its tail just before it strikes. Hey, cats are cats.
