The predatory behaviors of many carnivores are legendary—the hunting skills of hawks, wolves, and tigers, for example. Carnivores have evolved stealth, speed, power, large jaws, sharp teeth, and strong gripping appendages. They also have evolved remarkable means of detecting prey. Bats use echolocation, pit vipers sense infrared radiation from the warm bodies of their prey, and certain fishes detect electric fields created in the water by their prey. There are many fascinating examples of adaptations for capturing prey, such as the immobilizing venom of many snakes, the long sticky tongues of chameleons, and the webs of spiders.

Some predators digest their prey externally. For example, a spider injects insect prey with digestive enzymes and then sucks out the liquefied contents, leaving behind the empty exoskeletons frequently seen in old spider webs. The majority of animals, however, digest their food internally. For many, the process of digestion begins with the physical breaking down of the food items by the teeth.