Cannibal animals: 12 creatures that gobble up their own kind

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Cannibalism is far from the ultimate taboo in nature , and animals have been eating their own kind for millions of years — theworld ’s oldest know casedating back to trilobites half a billion years ago .

Today , many fauna engage in this behavior . These cannibal animals do n’t eat fellow members of their species all the meter and some only become cannibalistic in specific , uncommon scenario . But from athirst hippo to ego - give spiders , here are 12 animals that eat their own .

A Bengal tiger feeding on a dead tiger laying on fallen leaves in a forest.

A Bengal tiger feeding on a dead tiger in Bandhavgarh National Park in India.

monition : This subject may be disconcerting to some reader .

Monkeys

Cannibalism in monkeys is usually colligate with infanticide , or the putting to death of infant . For deterrent example , in 2019 , researchers observed a radical of Panamanian white - faced capuchin monkeys ( Cebus imitator)cannibalizinga newborn in the Santa Rosa National Park in Costa Rica after the 10 - day - honest-to-god monkey fall from a Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree .

Researchers who observed the cannibalism distrust that an adult male person pushed or attacked the infant , cause its last . big males of many different metal money will kill unrelated young for the chance to bring forth their own .

Polar Bears

Most cases of diametric bear ( Ursus maritimus ) cannibalism call for males killing cub , submarine - adults or — very occasionally — adult female person . However , both male and female polar bears will salvage on the carcase of dead polar bear that have been killed and clamber by humans , according to a 2011 study published in the journalArctic .

The Guardianreported in 2020 that cannibalism was on the rise in polar bears in northern Russia , peradventure due to a lack of food for thought , as melting ocean crank drive by climate change and human bodily process force them by from their normal hunt grounds .

Jaguars

A 2010 study published in the journalThe Southwestern Naturalistdocumented the first case of wild cannibalism among adult Felis onca ( genus Panthera onca ) . Two male Panthera onca appear to have killed and partly eat a female jaguar . The researcher believed that with plenty of quarry in the domain , the violent encounter likely stemmed from the social stress of unfamiliar jaguars meeting each other in the timber . Jaguar cannibalism can also occur during infanticide , although it ’s rare .

Sand Tiger Sharks

George Sand tiger sharks ( Carcharias taurus ) cannibalize each other before they ’ve even left the womb . research worker have long document sand tiger sharkembryos in the stomach of other embryos , with whelp attacking and eating their womb teammate as they originate . This cannibalism means that only the biggest , substantial issue survive .

Competition may be driving sand tiger shark to eat each other in the uterus . grown females can mate with multiple male , and the cannibalization might be between the embryos of unlike founder . Researchers have discover five to seven embryos from multiple fathers in the wombs of females early in their gestation , and two embryos from one father in the uterus of females later in their gestation .

It ’s possible that offspring from the first male to match with a female have more time to develop and the offspring of subsequent males are small , and become their food , but researchers are n’t sure . Adult shark will also eat small members of their own mintage .

Three capuchin monkeys on tree

Three white-faced capuchin monkeys (Cebus imitator) in a tree.

Alligators

gator champ down a mixture of quarry , including other alligator . Port Charlotte occupier Tammy Shaw captured this cannibalism on video in 2022 while paddleboarding in Silver Springs State Park in Florida , WKMG News 6 ClickOrlandoreported . In the video , a bombastic alligator surface with a smaller alligator in its jaws .

Adam Rosenblatt , an adjunct professor of biology at the University of North Florida who studies American gator ( Alligator mississippiensis ) , previously secern Live Science thatalligator cannibalismhas come for millions of years . alligator eat small animals whole and judder orotund prey in their jaws to break apart more manageable pieces , sometimes spinning quickly in a death roll — also used to down prey — to tear off glob of flesh .

Tigers

Researchers are still studying cannibalism conduct in tigers ( Panthera tigris ) , but there ’s evidence that adults occasionally consume laddie and other adults . For example , a Panthera tigris pop and feed on an grownup distaff Panthera tigris and later two sub - grownup in Kanha National Park in India in 2019 , theTimes of Indiareported . With passel of prey useable in the area , the acts of cannibalism surprised wildlife functionary and environmentalist , according to the Times of India .

Spiders

wanderer engage in different shape of cannibalism . There are plenty of examples of female spiders devouring male after matte — some species ofblack widow woman — are famous for this demeanour — to the head that one specie of male orb - weaving spider , Philoponella prominens , have develop peculiar adaptations to escape a post - coital demise . These males dramaticallycatapult themselves off femalesimmediately after mating . Those that flunk to escape are devour .

Male desert spidersStegodyphus lineatusengage in infanticide by eating a female ’s nut sac before her progeny can incubate . And if the young do manage to hatch — they corrode their mother . Thissuicidal maternalcare is call matriphagy .

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A polar bear covered in blood after catching a seal.

A polar bear (Ursus maritimus) covered in blood after catching a seal.

Lancetfish

Longnose wolffish ( Alepisaurus ferox ) are peculiardeep - sea cannibalsthat grow up to 7 feet ( 2.1 measure ) long in tropical and subtropical sea , often dwell in the twilight geographical zone around 650 to 3,300 human foot ( 200 to 1,000 m ) beneath the surface .

Smaller lancetfish on a regular basis show up in thestomachs of larger lancetfish , suggesting the animal commonly consume each other . research worker have even receive lancetfish in the stomachs of lancetfish in the stomachs of other lancetfish , like a Russian doll of lancetfish predation .

Hellbender Salamanders

Male Cryptobranchus alleganiensis salamander ( genus Cryptobranchus alleganiensis ) are stud Padre with one drawback : They usually cannibalize around 14 % of their materialisation . This normally is n’t a trouble for the survival of their species , as thesalamanders often wipe out offspringthat had a humble chance of survival anyway . However , deforestationis increasing their appetite .

Researchers suspect that deforestation due to humans is changing the pee chemistry in salamander habitats and run through their food supply , causing males to eat up more of their young . Other species , includingcane toads(Rhinella marina ) andcomb jellies(Mnemiopsis leidyi ) , also eat their own young . The pattern is call filial cannibalism .

Hippos

Researchers thought hippos ( Hippopotamus amphibius ) were rigorously herbivores until the 1990s , when hoi polloi start documenting themscavenging carcassesfor meat — include the remains of fellow Hippopotamus amphibius . Cannibalism may have been part to blame for an splenic fever outbreak in a hippo universe in Uganda in 2004 . The hippos potentially helped spread the disease by scavenge on the carcase of infected someone , New Scientist report .

Seals

grey seals ( Halichoerus grypus ) mostly eat up fish but are partial to the rummy act of cannibalism . A 2019 work write in theJournal of Sea Researchdescribed a sub - adult male sealing wax killing a juvenile person and course on its push - rich blubber for around 90 minutes . The authors noted that 1 ounce ( 28 gram ) of seal blubber has the same amount of Calorie as 3.5 ounce ( 100 g ) of herring fish — gray seals ' usual repast — while 0.4 snow leopard ( 12 g ) of blubber is the equivalent weight of 3.5 ounces of seedcase , so cannibalism is potentially adept calorific economic value for the seals .

Humans

— ' The proscribed infinite meal ' : What happens if you need to be a anthropophagus on Mars ?

— scientist describe what could be the oldest evidence of cannibalism among ancient human relation

— Watch cannibal crabmeat gobble up infant crablets in Australia in David Attenborough ’s ' Our Planet

A jaguar in a stalking pose behind long grass, staring straight into the camera.

A jaguar (Panthera onca) in the Pantanal region of Brazil.

Humans have engage in cannibalism throughout our story , from eat foeman toreflect aggressionto consumingloved ones to honor their pass . Those on the brink of starving have also succumbed to cannibalism to survive , including during time of famine , ongrueling expeditionsand when run aground . There ’s also evidence that Neanderthals and other nonextant man relativesturned to cannibalismat one clip or another .

Despite all this , humans are typically innately against the estimate of consume their own form , and the act is often consider theultimate taboo .

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Underwater photograph of a sand tiger shark amongst a wreck.