How prevalent is homicide in non-human animals?

Question

Do animals kill some of their own species like we do?
How about similar species from the same families?
Are we the only psychos who do this in the animal kingdom?

OK! Not Homicide, killing of another member of the same species for silly reasons like bling, power or love.

Jeez sometimes people get so stuck up in details.

Answer 1

I just want to point out that technically homicide does NOT mean 'killing a human', literally translated from the original Latin homicide means 'same killing' or killing of the same kind. Therefore the usage in the question in reference to animals killing other members of the same species is perfectly correct.

To answer the question, yes most animal species have been observed killing other members of the same species. Often these fights are over territory, mating, or disputes over parentage. Pretty much just like the majority of human homicides.

It tends to be more common among carnivores than herbivores, but that may just be because carnivores tend to be better equipped for killing, and tend to lead solitary, territorial lives. Most herd or pack critters have well developed social systems and dominance hierarchies, with in-built mechanisms of submission and communication to prevent matters escalating to the lethal level.

Other species may even develop psychotic killers, who kill their own kind due to mental imbalances, environmental stresses, or other factors. This is probably more common in humans than other animals, mostly because we have more psyche to break.

I once had a mouse that killed its mate and all of their newborn babies. Two days later he attacked another mouse and ate its head. I don't know if it was a chemical imbalance, or perhaps it felt stress being in a cage with too many other mice, but that mouse certainly seemed like a psycho-killer to me (I put it down because I couldn't trust it among the other mice).

Answer 2

Well, it couldn't actually be called homicide among animals, because the word "homicide" specifically means "killing a man." But animals do kill other animals of the same species. In some species, such as the black widow spider and the praying mantis, the female kills the male immediately after mating. In many species, males fight for the opportunity to mate with a female, and this fighting can be fatal. In territorial or leadership disputes, animals may also fight, and again it can be fatal. Most animals, though, are built so as to be able to withstand these fights without dying. A wolf, for example, has a thick pad of fat at the back of his neck, allowing a challenging wolf to sieze him by back of the neck with his teeth without killing him. So even though death can result from these conflicts, the intention is not generally to kill.

Answer 3

Homicidal behavior has been shown in chimpanzees. Beyond that, there are no other random homicidal tendencies in the animal kingdom.

The praying mantis does kill her mate after sex and some baby spiders will kill their mother, but it is more a survival technique than random homicide. There are other examples of similar behaviors, but I believe only chimps and humans kill for the pleasure of killing each other.

Answer 4

Yes, some animals kill their own kind. Male lions will kill the baby lions belonging to other males in the pride if he is the "alpha" male. Also, Jane Goodalls research showed that chimps would often viciously kill one another.

Answer 5

Yes animals kill within their species, but usually in defense only.

Answer 6

Jane Goodall observed this behavior in chimps at Gombe Stream National Park in the 70s and 80s- one tribe of chimps attacked and killed members of another tribe, kidnapping their infants and adopting them as their own. Rather frightening, since chimps are just down the evolutionary scale from humans

Rich K.

Answer 7

It's rare, but has been observed in chimpanzees and baboons in the wild. In captivity, many animals that are overcrowded will kill members of their own species (e.g. mice and rats). In some other species (such as lions) a new dominant male will kill cubs that aren't his, to force the females into mating more quickly than they otherwise would. Generally speaking, however, it appears to be a rare phenomenon.

Answer 8

Dude. I don't know if you intended this to be a trick question, but homicide is killing a HUMAN (connotatively and denotatively). Of course there is killing in species and across species - for territory, for mates, for food. I'm sorry, but try to educate yourself a bit before jumping to ridiculous conclusions.

Answer 9

i'm no wild and cruel or i'd not be having this communique. i imagine people have a bond with animals, highly dogs and different significant different and little ones pets because they typically practice devotion to the owner, the likes of which isn't considered with the help of any random human being you may want to satisfy. yet to assert that each human being people are wild and cruel is to assert each body you have ever know replaced into wild and cruel...

Answer 10

You need to realize that the reason humans kill each other is because of emotion or some mental issues. Animals lack the neccesary emotion to really "murder." They kill based on instinct and nothing else.