Theanimal infanticideIt may seem cruel to us, but it is astrategy to maintain the survival of the species, according to a study published in the latest issue of the journal Journal of Theoretical Biology. Among the lions,When the males are stripped of their leadership, the young they had with the group’s lionesses are fiercely eliminated– The new leader bites his head, back, neck and crushes his abdomen. In this way, the females are able to have young again quickly. In addition, this way the new leader gets rid of future competitors by the leadership of the group.
The male lions are the ones that kill the young, but in other species, the infanticides can be the females, as is the case with the females.rats. According to Tim Clutton-Brock, professor at the University of Cambridge (United Kingdom) and co-author of the work, these rodents dispose of a young when it is born with deformity or they kill those of other females to usurp the nest. And between themeerkats, the males never kill the offspring, since it is the dominant females who become “killers” of the offspring of the subordinates.
Thebaby chimpanzees are also often targeted by male aggressionthey become the new boss. However, in this case, some mothers employ clever strategies to reduce the chances of losing their children: they mate with several individuals and thus cast doubt on their paternity.
