Paragraph on “Hunter and the Hunted” complete paragraph for Class 9, Class 10, Class 11 and Class 12

Hunter and the Hunted

Life is constantly evolving and one living organism or animal is dependent upon another. Every plant and animal is eaten by another living being or animal. Herbivores (plant eating animals) eat plants and they are then eaten by the carnivores (meat or flesh eating animals). Some of the smaller carnivores are then eaten by other bigger carnivores.

The illustration on this page shows how a rabbit eats a plant but then it is in turn eaten by a fox, similarly a Song Thrush eats a snail but it may itself be eaten by an owl, though the owl may itself eat a snail on occasions. A mouse may be food to an owl but it is also eaten by a Weasel.

Evolution of species has largely been a result of the ‘survival of the fittest’ i,e. the animals or creatures which have managed to evolve characteristics, which have saved them from being hunted down have survived and subsequently multiplied into larger numbers. However as these creatures multiplied, their predators also adapted themselves to the changes and though there was an increase in the population of these creatures, it was only temporary since the predators soon adapted to the change and continued to prey on the smaller creatures. In this manner nature was able to maintain it’s equilibrium.

In the illustration the dotted lines show the occasional food eaten by the animals whereas the solid line shows the food which is usually of regularly consumed. Man today uses this process to his own advantage for the purpose of controlling pests, in countries where rats and mice are a menace, people often keep cats as pets to prevent rats from coming into their houses.