I posted in another thread about our impromptu nature study of predatory behavior!
Two of my DC ran inside yeterday after I had sent them out for a mid-morning, 15-minute recess outside. They said, “Dori (she is our calico cat) has a lizard half eaten!” My 10YO DS, who I aptly call the “Critter Whisperer”, ran outside with me. He was not outside yet. I find Dori crouched watching the helpless skink (which is a type of lizard; for some reason I thought it was not a lizard). Anyway, she had already eaten it up to its hind legs, and the helpless critter had hidden itself under one of my van tires to the point she couldn’t get to it momentarily.
My 10YO DS asked me if he could fish it out and I let him, because honestly the little skink was bleeding and I figured it would be best to let nature take its course quicker than not. After DS fished it out, Dori pounced on it and promptly relocated to the grass beside our driveway and finished it off, HEAD and all. Some of our DC watched the entire ordeal. I just couldn’t.
I was able to explain predatory behavior and instinct to our 7YO DS and 6YO DD. They were fascinated by the entire encounter.
Incidentally, I was researching last night on-line and discovered that house cats are the biggest predator of lizards. I love this site btw, though it is not the state in which we live. But their Field Guides are wonderful!
http://mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/field-guide/little-brown-skink (here is the site specific to the skink, which is what our Dori had for an mid-morning snack yeterdsay).