Cannibalism

Cannibalism is the act or practice of eating members of one's own species and usually refers to humans eating other humans (sometimes called anthropophagy). Cannibalism has been attributed to many different tribes and races in the past, but the degree to which it has actually occurred and been socially sanctioned is an extremely controversial topic in anthropology. Some anthropologists argue that cannibalism has been almost non-existent and view claims of cannibalism with extreme skepticism, while others argue that the practice was common in pre-state societies.

Non-human cannibalism

Cannibalism is common and a part of the life cycle for some species. With regards to death as a part of sex, the female red-back spider, black widow spider, and praying mantis sometimes eat the male after mating (though the frequency of this is often overstated). For other organisms, cannibalism has less to do with sex than relative sizes. Larger octopus preying upon smaller ones is commonly observed in the wild, and the same can be said for certain toads, fish, and tarantulas. Cannibalism may develop in extremes such as captivity or a desperate food shortage. For instance, a domestic sow may eat her newborn young, though this behavior has not been observed in the wild. Another cause for cannibalism in captivity is territoriality; species with large territories in the wild may display cannibal behaviors in confinement with others. For example, while tarantulas infrequently cannibalize in the wild, they do so much more commonly in captivity. It is also known that rabbits, mice, rats, or hamsters will eat their young if their nest is repeatedly threatened by predators. In some species adult males are known to kill and sometimes eat young of their species to whom they are not closely related — famously, the chimpanzees observed by Dr. Jane Goodall. This is believed to be a mechanism of increasing the colony's energy and food expenditure given to the murderer's own offspring rather than sharing with unrelated young. During the Nato bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999, a number of animals in Belgrade Zoo, including a tigress and two she-wolves were reported to be so traumatised, they ate their offspring. Prince, a Bengal tiger, was even reported by an Indian war correspondent to have started eating himself -- gnawing at his own foot in what the zookeeper was quoted as saying was his "protest" at the bombing.

Related Topics:
Red-back spider - Black widow spider - Praying mantis - Octopus - Toads - Fish - Tarantulas - Food shortage - Sow - Rabbit - Mice - Rat - Hamster - Chimpanzee - Jane Goodall - Nato - Yugoslavia - Tigress - She-wolves

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