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Animal Cannibalism: 10 Ruthless Creatures That Eat Their Own Kind

When it comes to survival, animals are no strangers to doing what it takes to survive. Although it might seem disturbing, animals’ survival often hinges on the law of “eat or be eaten.” One key way they might follow this law is through cannibalization—when animals eat their own kind!

It might seem shocking, but some of the cutest and innocent-appearing animals surprisingly have no problem with it—some of them eat their own children! Whether they are driven by low resources, fierce competition, or just enjoy it, here are 10 animals that cannibalize their kind with no remorse.

1. Lion

Although beautiful and majestic, lions are known to be some of the deadliest animals out there. Known as the King of the Savannah, it’s no surprise that lions engage in cannibalization.

Lions are primarily meat eaters, although they don’t usually eat their kind. However, when food is scarce, nothing will stop a lion from eating a fellow lion if that’s what it takes to live.

Furthermore, lions might kill other lions when a young lion takes over the pride. When this happens, lions are known to establish dominance by killing the older male that used to be in charge. This is also done to eliminate any potential rivals that may threaten the lion.

It might be disturbing, but this is just one of the ways that lions ensure their survival. The list will continue to get more shocking as it goes on, so strap in!

2. Polar Bears

It might be saddening to hear that such a beloved animal would do something so savage. But, polar bears have been resorting to cannibalization to ensure their survival.

Just like lions, polar bears must ensure survival during the toughest days of winter. When food is scarce, male polar bears resort to attacking and eating females and cubs.

This trend will continue increasing as global warming continues. Warmer temperatures mean less ice, making it harder for polar bears to camouflage. Populations of seals are also dropping, which is a polar bear’s primary food source.

3. Hippos

Hippos might appear to be gentle giants, when they are anything but! Don’t let its funny appearances fool you, hippos are responsible for thousands of human deaths—as well as plenty of hippo deaths!

Scientists are actually struggling to find out why hippos resort to cannibalization. It is currently thought that it might be due to high stress levels when they are overcrowded.

Hippos spend the majority of their lives in the water to keep themselves cool under the hot sun of the savannah. But when there are droughts, they pack together tightly and heat up—which is horrible for their health!

It’s unfortunate, but the primary cause for hippo cannibalization is humans. Had global warming not been so intense, hippos wouldn’t have to face droughts and pack themselves together.

4. Chimpanzees

Chimps are our closest relatives, so it might be shocking to hear they have no problem eating fellow chimps. Although herbivores, this species of monkey has been shown to engage in cannibalization numerous times.

Chimpanzees eat each other to assert dominance and prevent overcrowding. They are even known to attack the offspring of other male chimps!

5. Hamsters

Hamsters are some of the cutest little balls of fluff you can imagine! However, they also have a dark side. These small rodents have been observed to cannibalize each other.

It’s not as common as in other animals, however, they still might do this if they are under stress from overcrowding. This goes to show that even the most innocent-looking animals might be more disturbing than you think!

6. Sand Tiger Shark

Amada44, CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Sand tiger sharks look terrifying with their pointy teeth and fearsome appearance. As such, it might not come as a surprise that they are known to cannibalize each other. They are especially known for Intrauterine cannibalism, which is where the stronger embryos eat the weaker ones.

There are plenty of reasons for sharks to do this, notably that it offers nutritional benefits and is a helpful survival strategy. Furthermore, it gives the shark a genetic advantage and assists in population regulation.

Even though sharks look deadly, they are also one of the least deadly animals to humans. There have been more deaths from fireworks than there have to sharks.

7. Chickens

Probably one of the more unexpected entries on this list, chickens are known to cannibalize each other! These farm animals hide a hidden dark side that might peak through if they are not well attended.

Like previous entries on the list, chickens resort to this behavior if there is a lack of space due to overcrowding. Additionally, nutritional deficiencies such as low protein and unequal distribution of food could also lead to this strange behavior.

But chickens aren’t the only thing that chickens have to look out for! Billions of chickens are domesticated and eaten annually in America alone. Improper care by humans in farms directly results in the chickens cannibalizing each other.

8. Harlequin Ladybug

Harlequin Ladybugs, one of the most common species of ladybugs, are known to eat each other. This species of ladybug is very common around the world and can be found in America, Europe, and Asia. However, they are actually an introduced species in many areas of the world, meaning humans brought them there.

Cannibalization offers the ladybug nutritional benefits, especially when food or other resources are scarce. Plus, they eliminate competition and keep the population under control.

Next time you see one of these pretty beetles, just know what they had to do to survive!

9. Jaguars

Jaguars are the largest species of cat found in North America and South America. They certainly are beautiful, but like other big cats, they have been observed to resort to cannibalization.

Cannibalization within jaguars isn’t common behavior, however the likely cause is to assert dominance. Territorial disputes and stress from other unfamiliar jaguars are other potential causes for it.

10. Crab Spiders

Olaf Leillinger, CC BY-SA 2.5 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5, via Wikimedia Commons

Just cause crab spiders are small doesn’t mean they aren’t scary. In fact, they are known to ambush their prey with their crab-like hunting skills.

But other animals aren’t the only thing that has to watch out for crab spiders, they also have to watch out for themselves! That’s right, crab spiders earn 10th place on this list for being the smallest yet terrifying creature yet.

These ambush predators have been observed to eat their kin if food is scarce or competition for resources is high.

Did this list surprise you? Just because an animal is beautiful, doesn’t mean it doesn’t exhibit disturbing behavior such as cannibalization. Nature is certainly intriguing, but not everything is roses and flowers!

At Animalia, we want to entertain the world with thought-provoking stories about the world around us.

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