Can animals be deceptive? - Eldridge Adams

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A male firefly emits a series of enticing flashes. He hopes a female will respond and mate with him. A female from a different species mimics his patterns: by tricking the male, she lures him in -- and turns him into a meal. Where else do we see this kind of trickery in the animal kingdom? Eldridge Adams details the surprising complexity of how animals manipulate predators, prey and their rivals.


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TED-Ed Animations feature the words and ideas of educators brought to life by professional animators. Are you an educator or animator interested in creating a TED-Ed Animation? Nominate yourself here »

Meet The Creators

  • Educator Eldridge Adams
  • Director Alex Herder, Tarisa Shelton
  • Narrator Addison Anderson
  • Producer Alex Herder, Tarisa Shelton
  • Illustrator Xiuqi Wang, Dave Ellington, Joseph Le, Hannah Churn, Flavio Galvao
  • Storyboard Artist Xiuqi Wang, Dave Ellington, Joseph Le
  • Character Designer Xiuqi Wang, Dave Ellington, Flavio Galvao
  • Layout Artist Joseph Le
  • Animator Xiuqi Wang, Dave Ellington, Hannah Churn, Flavio Galvao
  • Music Matt Erlichman
  • Content Producer Gerta Xhelo
  • Editorial Producer Alex Rosenthal
  • Associate Producer Bethany Cutmore-Scott
  • Script Editor Emma Bryce
  • Fact-Checker Francisco Diez
Additional Resources for you to Explore
If you want to learn more about how animals use deception, check out this website, these two National Geographic articles here and here. 

Customize this lesson

Create and share a new lesson based on this one.

About TED-Ed Animations

TED-Ed Animations feature the words and ideas of educators brought to life by professional animators. Are you an educator or animator interested in creating a TED-Ed Animation? Nominate yourself here »

Meet The Creators

  • Educator Eldridge Adams
  • Director Alex Herder, Tarisa Shelton
  • Narrator Addison Anderson
  • Producer Alex Herder, Tarisa Shelton
  • Illustrator Xiuqi Wang, Dave Ellington, Joseph Le, Hannah Churn, Flavio Galvao
  • Storyboard Artist Xiuqi Wang, Dave Ellington, Joseph Le
  • Character Designer Xiuqi Wang, Dave Ellington, Flavio Galvao
  • Layout Artist Joseph Le
  • Animator Xiuqi Wang, Dave Ellington, Hannah Churn, Flavio Galvao
  • Music Matt Erlichman
  • Content Producer Gerta Xhelo
  • Editorial Producer Alex Rosenthal
  • Associate Producer Bethany Cutmore-Scott
  • Script Editor Emma Bryce
  • Fact-Checker Francisco Diez

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