托福口语 Task 4

Today, we're going to talk about a fascinating behavioral adaptation in animals called 'safety in numbers.' This is a strategy where individuals in a group reduce their risk of being attacked by predators, not by fighting, but by using the group itself as a shield. Let me give you two examples. First, consider the sardine. When a predator like a tuna approaches a school of sardines, the sardines don't scatter randomly. Instead, they form a tight, swirling ball. This confuses the tuna because the moving mass makes it hard to target a single fish. The tuna often gives up because the effort to catch one sardine isn't worth the energy. Second, think about the wildebeest during migration. When lions attack a herd, the wildebeest don't just run in all directions. They bunch together and run as a cohesive unit. The lions, being ambush predators, are less likely to succeed because the herd's movement makes it difficult to isolate a weak or young individual. So, in both cases, the key is not individual speed or strength, but the group's coordinated movement that reduces each member's chance of being the victim.