noun

predation

prih-DAY-shun/prɪˈdeɪʃn/

The capture and killing of prey for food.

A fox eating a freshly caught mouse provides an example of predation.

A red fox eating a freshly caught field mouse, showing one animal taking another as food in a simple, non-graphic wildlife scene.

Etymology

Predation originally meant plundering or taking booty. The animal sense applies that act of taking to hunting and eating prey; the Latin verb also covered catching animals as game.

In context

Canadian Museum of Nature2:30

lemmings are easy to catch, and are feeding most of the predators. Some birds will reproduce with greater ease because they are now getting a predation break from animals like the fox, for example.

Lemmings—The Arctic Tundra's "Lunch Box"

More examples

Predation by owls helps control the mouse population.
Young fish hide among underwater plants to avoid predation.
The study measures rates of predation on nesting birds.

Forms

predator noun — An animal that hunts other animals for food.

predatory adjective — Hunting and killing other animals for food.

Similar words

hunting: Emphasizes pursuing prey, without necessarily capturing or killing it.
carnivory: Means eating animal flesh, without necessarily capturing live prey.