Editing Anti-predator adaptation (section)

==Escaping==
[[File:Startled game birds - geograph.org.uk - 982902.jpg |thumb |upright |Startled [[pheasants]] and [[partridges]] fly from possible danger.]]

===Flight===
The normal reaction of a prey animal to an attacking predator is to flee by any available means, whether flying, gliding,<ref name=Corlett>{{cite book |last1=Corlett |first1=Richard T. |title=Tropical rain forests : an ecological and biogeographical comparison |publisher=Wiley-Blackwell |date=2011 |isbn=978-1444332551 |pages=197, 200 |edition=2nd |author2=Primack, Richard B. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=R0j8NROHQi8C&pg=PA197}}</ref> falling, swimming, running, jumping, [[burrowing]]<ref name=Bromley>{{cite book |author=Bromley, Richard G. |title=Trace Fossils: Biology, Taxonomy and Applications |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s_kqvIui4IkC&pg=PA69 |year=2012 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-135-07607-8 |pages=69–72}}</ref> or [[Rotating locomotion in living systems#Rolling|rolling]],<ref name="Krus">{{cite web |last = Kruszelnicki |first = Karl S. |title = Real Wheel Animals—Part Two |work = Great Moments in Science |publisher = ABC Science |date = August 9, 1999 |url = http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/1999/08/09/42510.htm?site=science/greatmomentsinscience |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20161001195024/http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/1999/08/09/42510.htm?site=science%2Fgreatmomentsinscience |archive-date = October 1, 2016 |url-status = live }}</ref> according to the animal's capabilities.{{sfn |Edmunds |1974 |pages=145–149}} Escape paths are often erratic, making it difficult for the predator to predict which way the prey will go next: for example, birds such as [[snipe]], [[ptarmigan]] and [[black-headed gull]]s evade fast raptors such as [[peregrine falcon]]s with zigzagging or jinking flight.{{sfn |Edmunds |1974 |pages=145–149}} In the tropical rain forests of Southeast Asia in particular, many vertebrates escape predators by falling and gliding.<ref name=Corlett/> Among the insects, many moths turn sharply, fall, or perform a powered dive in response to the [[animal echolocation|sonar clicks of bats]].{{sfn |Edmunds |1974 |pages=145–149}} Among fish, the [[Gasterosteus|stickleback]] follows a zigzagging path, often doubling back erratically, when chased by a fish-eating [[merganser]] duck.{{sfn |Edmunds |1974 |pages=145–149}}

===Autotomy===
{{main |Autotomy}}
[[File:Lizard tail autotomy.JPG |thumb |[[Lizard]] tail [[autotomy]] can distract predators, continuing to writhe while the lizard makes its escape.]]

Some animals are capable of [[autotomy]] (self-amputation), shedding one of their own [[appendage]]s in a last-ditch attempt to elude a predator's grasp or to distract the predator and thereby allow escape. The lost body part may be [[regeneration (biology)|regenerated]] later. Certain [[sea slug]]s discard stinging papillae; arthropods such as [[crab]]s can sacrifice a claw, which can be regrown over several successive moults; among [[vertebrate]]s, many [[gecko]]s and other [[lizard]]s shed their tails when attacked: the tail goes on writhing for a while, distracting the predator, and giving the lizard time to escape; a smaller tail slowly regrows.{{sfn |Edmunds |1974 |pages=179–181}}