Cannibalism refers to the act of consuming another individual of the same species as food. It is a somewhat rare behavior among animals, but it does occur. However, it is not as rare as one might think. In fact, it has been recorded in over 1,500 species, and there is often a good evolutionary reason behind it.
Animals who participate in cannibalism often live in harsh environments where food is scarce and they need to survive by consuming the bodies of other animals. One of its disadvantages, though, is that it can also lead to the spread of diseases from one species to another.
1. Alligators
Alligators eat various prey, including their own kind. In 2022, Tammy Shaw from Port Charlotte captures a video of cannibalism while paddleboarding in Silver Springs State Park in Florida. In this video, a large adult alligator can be seen chomping down a smaller one while being submerged in water.
According to University of North Florida biology assistant professor Adam Rosenblatt, alligator cannibalism has occurred for millions of years. Adult alligators eat smaller animals whole while they shake larger prey in their jaws to break them apart into more manageable pieces. Sometimes, they also spin rapidly in a death roll to tear off chunks of flesh.
2. Polar Bears
Polar bear (Ursus maritimus) cannibalism usually involves males killing cubs, young adults, or adult females. According to a 2011 study, both male and female polar bears can scavenge the carcasse of dead polar bears which have been killed and skinned by humans.
3. Spiders
Spiders engage in various forms of cannibalism. In some species of black widow, female spiders eat males after mating. Because of this, a species of male orb-weaving spiders (Philoponella prominens) evolved special adaptations to escape from this demise. The males catapult themselves off females immediately after mating.
Meanwhile, male desert spiders Stegodyphus lineatus engage in infanticide by eating the egg sac of a female before her offspring can hatch. If the offspring manage to hatch, they eat their mother in an act called matriphagy.
4. Tigers
Although cannibalism behavior in tigers (Panthera tigris) is still being studied, there is evidence that adults sometimes eat cubs and other adults. In 2019, it was reported that a tiger killed and fed on an adult female tiger and two sub-adults in Kanha National Park in India. This act surprised wildlife officials and conservationists, since there are plenty of prey available in the area.
5. Hippopotamus
Scientists thought that hippos (Hippopotamus amphibious) were strictly herbivores until the 1990s, when it was documented that these beasts scavenge carcasses for meat. Cannibalism may have been to blame for an anthrax outbreak in a hippopotamus population in Uganda in 2004. It was reported that hippos potentially helped spread the disease by consuming the remains of infected individuals.
6. Jaguars
A 2010 study documented the first case of wild cannibalism among adult jaguars (Panthea onca). Two male jaguars appear to have killed and partially eaten a female. It was theorized by the researchers that with plenty of prey in the area, the violent encounter probably stemmed from the social stress of unfamiliar jaguars meeting each other in the wild. Cannibalism among jaguar can also occur during infanticide, although it is rare.
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