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Why do animals eat their babies?

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When mammalian mothers give birth, they must begin nursing their infants—something they can do only if they're healthy and well nourished. But if, for instance, a mother bear in the wild gives birth to unhealthy or deformed cubs, or is unable to find enough to eat, she will typically kill and consume them. read more

Scientists have been unsure why such a behavior would have evolved, but a new study sheds light on the factors that may drive some parents to eat their young. Zoologists have observed filial cannibalism, the act of eating one's offspring, in many different types of animals, including bank voles, house finches, wolf spiders and many fish species. read more

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