In the animal kingdom, survival can be brutal. While we often think of animals protecting their young at all costs, there are instances where they kill and even eat their own offspring. This heartbreaking act, known as infanticide, can be driven by a variety of factors, from resource scarcity to dominance struggles. Let’s explore ten killer animals that commit infanticide.
Bottlenose Dolphins
Dolphins are renowned for their intelligence and social behavior. However, these seemingly gentle creatures have a dark side. Researchers have observed male bottlenose dolphins attacking and attempting to drown newborn pups. This behavior is believed to be linked to territorial disputes, competition for food, or attempts to force the mother to mate again.
In a documented incident, two male dolphins were seen trying to sink a newborn pup just minutes after its birth. Such attacks can often go unnoticed underwater, suggesting infanticide may be more common than previously thought.
Black Guillemots
These seabirds, native to northern seas, nest on rocky shores. Surprisingly, black guillemots are known to attack and kill chicks, even those of their own species. Studies have shown an increase in infanticide within guillemot colonies, with chicks being pecked to death or thrown off cliffs.
A primary cause of this behavior is believed to be food scarcity, potentially exacerbated by global warming. With both parents needing to forage, unattended chicks become vulnerable to attacks from neighboring guillemots.
Black-Tailed Prairie Dogs
Prairie dogs are busy rodents found across the prairie lands of North America. Infant mortality is high among these creatures, but not always due to predators. Infanticide is a leading cause of pup deaths, with a significant percentage of litters affected.
Female prairie dogs often target the offspring of close relatives, possibly driven by nutritional needs during lactation. Male prairie dogs may also kill pups of females they’ve mated with, potentially to increase the survival chances of their own offspring in mixed-paternity litters.
Meerkats
Meerkats are highly social animals native to the southern plains of Africa. They live in organized communities, but their social structure can be ruthless. Alpha females in meerkat groups often kill the offspring of subordinate females to reduce competition for their own young.
These alpha females show no remorse, forcing the grieving mothers to become wet nurses for their pups or face exile. This ensures that the alpha’s offspring receive the best care, even at a terrible cost.
Chacma Baboons
Chacma baboons boast a complex social structure, living in troops ruled by a hierarchy where friendships and bonds are vital. Despite these social connections, infanticide occurs when alpha males kill offspring that aren’t theirs.
By eliminating the baby, the male halts the female’s lactation, making her sexually available again. To protect their young, mothers form nonsexual friendships with other males, offering grooming and proximity in exchange for protection.
Hanuman Langurs
Hanuman langurs, found in South Asia, are respected in Hindu culture and often used for pest control. However, their troops can be far from peaceful. A dominant male typically leads a troop of females, fiercely defending them.
When a new male takes over, he often kills existing infants to ensure his own lineage continues. This infanticide increases his chances of fathering offspring and passing on his genes.
Chimpanzees
Chimpanzees, closely related to humans, also exhibit infanticide. Male chimpanzees from one community sometimes raid rival groups, killing unprotected infants. Disturbingly, mothers of the dead infants may even join the perpetrators’ communities.
Infanticide isn’t limited to external attacks; it also occurs within communities, with males and females killing infants together. The reasons behind female-perpetrated infanticide are still under investigation.
Lions
African lions, known as the “kings of the jungle,” live in groups called prides. Lionesses hunt, but cubs become targets when a rogue male challenges the pride’s alpha. The new alpha typically kills the cubs of the ousted male.
This behavior ensures the male doesn’t waste resources on unrelated offspring. With the cubs dead, the lionesses stop nursing and become ready to mate with the new alpha.
Bears
Bears are generally solitary and extremely protective of their young. However, infanticide does occur, even among mother bears. For example, a sloth bear at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo ate her newborn cubs.
While this is shocking, in the wild, mother bears sometimes kill young that are unfit or deformed. This may be a grim form of ensuring weak infants don’t suffer from short, miserable lives.
Sea Otters
Sea otters, lovable marine mammals, have a disturbing side. There have been reports of adult male otters forcibly mating with, drowning, and even killing juvenile seals. This violent behavior is driven by sexual frustration due to declining female otter populations.
Male otters, unable to find female mates, redirect their aggression towards seal pups. The behavior highlights the harsh realities of survival and reproduction in the wild.
Conclusion
Infanticide in the animal kingdom is a complex and often disturbing phenomenon. Driven by factors like resource scarcity, dominance struggles, and sexual frustration, these acts reveal the brutal realities of survival. While heartbreaking from a human perspective, infanticide serves various purposes in the natural world, shaping the dynamics and survival strategies of many species.
What do you think about these instances of infanticide? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
