The Law of Least Effort

Sharks can go weeks without eating, in average they need to eat 3% of their body weight “per day”. These apex predators don’t waste energy stalking prey that is already aware of them and can easily escape, by sneaking up on unsuspecting turtles and fish. If it costs too much energy to hunt an healthy adult animal, they will prefer to hunt young, stressed or sick animals, that demand less hunting effort, minimizing energy output and maximizing chances of a successful capture. This kind of prey pre-selection can be seen as laziness, but it’s actually an efficient energy management known as the Law of Least Effort, a key principle of the natural world.