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In acts that may appear savage, cold-blooded, and even merciless, vulnerable young ones are sometimes killed or devoured by the very animals that either brought them into existence or cared for them in their early days. To humans, infanticide is undeniably tragic.
However, for animals facing a scarcity of resources, aiming for total dominance, perceiving the young as unfit for survival, or feeling threatened, killing and consuming their offspring can become a necessary act.
10. Bottlenose Dolphins
Dolphins are among the most cherished marine mammals. Known for their intelligence, they excel in hearing, communication, and vision. With their ever-present ‘smile,’ it’s easy to think of dolphins as harmless creatures. However, in a rare and disturbing instance, a group of bottlenose dolphins was observed attempting to kill a newborn pup in August 2013.
In an unprecedented moment, researchers witnessed the live birth of a bottlenose dolphin in the wild off the coast of Georgia. Astonishingly, less than two minutes after the pup's arrival, two male dolphins began trying to drown it, continuing for half an hour. This alarming behavior has been observed only twice in history. Even more troubling is the possibility that the pup was attacked underwater, as suggested by violent thrashing that the researchers were unable to fully observe. Scientists now suspect that many more attacks and fatalities may occur than they previously believed, given that dolphins also target pups beneath the water's surface.
Several theories try to explain this cruel behavior, such as territorial conflicts, competition for food, and efforts to force mating with the female once the calf is dead.
9. Black Guillemots
Native to the northern oceans, the black-and-white guillemot is a relatively small seabird that typically nests on rocky shores. Despite its seemingly gentle demeanor, the bird is not averse to attacking and killing its own species’ chicks. According to research by the University of Leeds and the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, incidents of infanticide among guillemot colonies have been on the rise. A study of a colony in Scotland in 2007 revealed that chicks were either pecked to death or thrown from cliffs.
An intriguing aspect is that about two-thirds of these fatalities were caused by adults who were not the parents of the deceased chicks. Researchers have suggested that food shortages, even in established colonies, could be a driving factor for these killings. Climate change is likely the main culprit behind a lack of prey for the seabirds. With both parents foraging for food, the chicks are left unattended, creating an opportunity for neighboring guillemots to attack and kill them.
8. Black-Tailed Prairie Dogs
Prairie dogs, the social rodents of the prairie lands, stretch from Texas all the way up to Canada. The black-tailed prairie dog, the most common species, faces threats from a variety of predators, including badgers, coyotes, mountain lions, and long-tailed weasels. Despite these dangers, the highest infant mortality rate among black-tailed prairie dogs isn’t caused by predation; infanticide is the leading cause of death.
In fact, an astounding 39 percent of all prairie dog litters lose pups to infanticide. In some cases, the entire litter is wiped out. The main perpetrators are female prairie dogs, who typically attack the offspring of close relatives but refrain from harming their own. These females are usually lactating when they commit infanticide, leading to speculation that they may turn to cannibalism to meet nutritional needs during the stressful time of feeding their own young.
Male prairie dogs are also known to engage in infanticide. Interestingly, they often target the pups of females with whom they have previously mated. Since female prairie dogs can give birth to litters with multiple fathers, scientists have suggested that males may somehow be able to identify which pups are their own. An overly protective father might then kill the other pups to increase the survival chances of his own offspring.
7. Meerkats
If any animal understands the value of teamwork, it is the meerkat. Native to southern Africa’s plains, these highly social and organized creatures, also known as suricates, create communities that collaborate in every way to survive. While the group carries on with its daily tasks, lookout meerkats alert the others when danger is near. However, it may come as a surprise that despite their strong sense of community, meerkat females are quite tyrannical.
In the meerkat social order, the alpha male and female exercise total control. When lower-ranking females give birth to offspring, the alpha females ruthlessly eliminate them. Without any hesitation, the alpha females then force the mourning mothers to choose: remain and nurse the alpha's young or face exile. However, staying comes at a cost, as wet nurses lose a substantial amount of weight during this role.
Researchers believe that the alpha females who kill the offspring of other mothers do so to minimize competition for the care of their own young. While their methods are harsh, they undeniably serve their purpose.
6. Chacma Baboons
Chacma baboons exhibit one of the most intricate social structures in the primate kingdom. These monkeys, native to the Zambezi region of southern Africa, form troops and follow a strict hierarchy where friendships and bonds hold significant value.
While familial and relationship bonds are encouraged within the chacma troop, alpha males sometimes take matters into their own hands and kill the offspring of a female that isn't theirs. Their goal is to father their own young with that particular female. By eliminating the infant and halting the mother's lactation, the male makes her sexually available again.
Researchers have found that, in an effort to protect their young, mothers often form nonsexual alliances with other males in the group. These bonds typically involve grooming and close proximity, where the male offers protection in exchange. Additionally, a male may gain a position within the troop by establishing a bond with a female. It turns out that males and females can indeed be friends.
5. Hanuman Langurs
The South Asian Hanuman langur serves a dual purpose. First, they are used as a form of “pest” control, effectively keeping unwanted rhesus monkeys at bay, as demonstrated during the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi. Also known as gray langurs, these primates hold a revered place in Hindu culture, symbolizing the monkey deity Hanuman, a hero in Sanskrit legend. However, it may come as a shock to learn that the seemingly peaceful gray langurs are not as tranquil as they appear.
In the wild, a dominant male leads a troop, fiercely defending the females under his care. If a challenger successfully overthrows the alpha, the new leader often kills any existing infants to make room for his own offspring. Research suggests that, since only alphas can mate within their troops, infanticide is a tactic to ensure the continuation of their own lineage.
4. Chimpanzees
Some of the most unsettling reports of infanticide in the animal kingdom come from chimpanzees in the wild. Chimpanzees live in communities where males dominate. On occasion, groups of males from one community aggressively attack a rival group, leading to the deaths of unprotected infants. Even more troubling, the mothers of the slain infants sometimes form alliances with or even join the communities of the attackers.
Infanticide isn't confined to outside threats; within their own communities, both males and females have been observed killing infants. In certain cases, males and females have cooperated to either kill and consume the infants or abandon them completely. The reasons behind the increasing number of female-perpetrated killings remain under investigation by scientists.
3. Sea Otters
Sea otters defy expectations with a surprising and dark side. These endearing marine mammals have been observed displaying aggressive behaviors that many may find shocking. Reports from California between 2000 and 2002 confirmed incidents where adult otters would mount, forcibly mate with, and even drown and kill juvenile seals. Of the 19 occurrences, 15 resulted in the death of the seal pups. Strangely, even after killing them, the otters would capture the bodies and continue mating with the deceased seals.
Interestingly, sea otter mating practices are equally disturbing. Females are mounted and held—sometimes underwater—for extended periods of time until mating concludes, even if it results in the female’s death. Remarkably, males may continue to copulate with the dead female afterward.
Scientists attribute this brutal behavior to a simple cause: sexual frustration. With the decline of female otters in the region, the males are growing increasingly desperate, turning their aggression on unsuspecting juvenile seals as a way of channeling their frustrations.
This shocking and violent behavior has been recorded in a specific area, though it's possible that similar incidents are happening in other parts of the wild as well.
2. Bears
Bears, regardless of their species, are formidable creatures. They are solitary, powerful animals, fiercely protective of their young. While it may be hard to imagine a mother bear harming or killing her own cubs, such tragic events do occur.
Consider the typically reclusive sloth bear. A disturbing and unsettling incident took place at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo in Washington, DC, where a female sloth bear gave birth to her cubs. After the first cub was born, the mother shockingly consumed the infant while still in the process of labor. She went on to deliver two more cubs and continued to care for them for a week thereafter.
Still in shock from the horrific infanticide, zookeepers were left astounded when the mother sloth bear consumed yet another one of her cubs and completely abandoned the third. After rescuing the surviving cub from its neglectful mother, it was discovered that the cub was ill, and further examination revealed that the other infants were also sickly.
As disturbing and tragic as these events are for humans to witness, wild mother bears (and even males) often kill offspring that are unfit or deformed. Could it be that these mothers are acting out of mercy, preventing their young from enduring short, painful lives filled with suffering and disease?
1. Lions
Despite being the only big cats that live in social groups, African lions are often called “the kings of the jungle”—a title they truly deserve. They are strong, majestic creatures, but their numbers are steadily declining. It’s feared that in about 20 years, their populations may drop by as much as 50 percent. Lions face battles with dwindling prey, habitat loss, humans who hunt them out of revenge for attacking livestock, and tragically, even conflict within their own species.
Lionesses are typically the primary hunters in a pride, but when a rogue male challenges the reigning alpha, the cubs become the target. Similar to many other mammalian species, when an alpha male is overthrown by an outsider, the new male will nearly always kill the cubs sired by the previous alpha. This behavior is driven by a desire to eliminate the offspring of another male, as raising unrelated cubs would require unnecessary resources. Once the cubs are killed, the males are free to mate with the females, as the females cease lactating.
