why do female animals eat their young, I've seen it in rabbits and dogs?

Answer 1

Several reasons. (1) human interference can cause the mother to attack the young due to smells etc and leading into the reason (2) smalls from the dead body even if carted away will attract predators and increase the likely hood of destruction of all of possibly the entire family.. but (3) females of carnivorous species actually eat the placenta (afterbirth) both to keep area hygienic and as a source of nutrients while the mother is restricted/prevented from obtaining food. eating the young serves the same purpose. Finally (4) some animals are not parent material... I think we have all seen or heard of human examples of child abuse etc and unfortunately the same applies to animals and they just kill the young often dismembering them and later eating them almost as a if it was a curios new food- its rather revolting to think about. [This last behaviour i have actually seen in canaries .. one of my own and one belonging to another person].

Answer 2

As patricia stated, it's a natural mechanism to avoid attracting predators with weak prey nearby.

It can also be a kind of Darwinian thing, where a child too weak to survive on its own will be consumed back into the mother's body to resupply nutrients it lost during the gestation process.

At least I think so. I heard that on a nature show I saw somewhere. I'm not really an authority on animals.

Answer 3

It is for survival. The mother would eat the weak and sickly baby that has less chance of survival - it provides the mother with nutrition to replace some of the lost energy of birth and also gives better chance for the other young to survive - one less mouth to feed. Also, it will reduce the chance of disease if the weak one dies and rots - it is nature's way of cleaning up the mess before it's made. It is literally survival of the fittest. It is also recycling life.

Answer 4

Cannibalism may seem purely destructive, but it can, in fact, be quite beneficial. Clearly, a voracious cannibalistic species would rapidly eat itself out of existence. When cannibalism occurs in response to overcrowding, for example, it can increase the species’ chances for survival. A population rising too rapidly without restraints can eliminate its own food supply. During a harsh winter or drought, when food is scarce it is clearly to a species’ advantage for at least some of the population to remain well fed and healthy even at the expense of others, Among species that produce many offspring, such as frogs, cannibalism of siblings helps ensure that some young develop into adults, thus continuing the species. Cannibalism appears to be an inherited trait in some species.

Many species of gull that nest in large colonies cannibalize eggs and young. When it is sporadic, this behavior may be a response to crowding, but some gulls throughout the breeding season live entirely on the eggs and chicks of their own species. The chief perpetrators tend to be males without young of their own.

Some animals become cannibals when faced by certain environmental conditions. Mice and rats, for example, may turn cannibal when their colony population rises rapidly, and their naturally high reproductive rate results in a high mortality of young. Dead offspring may be eaten by the hungry and stressed survivors. This behavior is most often observed in animals kept under unnaturally cramped conditions in captivity but there is also evidence of cannibalism occurring in the wild under similar conditions. Among some bird species, parents or nestlings may eat the young when populations become dense, or food scarce. Young birds of prey often kill and sometimes eat weaker nestlings. Crows, too, may eat eggs and chicks of rivals to improve their own chance of successful breeding.

Answer 5

Grassy isn't a female animal and Tracy is young and edible. Need I say more Sweetie

Answer 6

If an animal is injured or dead sometimes the mother will eat them so that the smell does not attract prey.

Answer 7

Some animals are weird thats all. Many do it because of human interaction. And sometimes they do it because well, humans.

or they are just hungry.

Answer 8

they eat their young bcos, its either for health..(cats eat one of their young for this)
dogs and rabbits eat their young bcos their young hav been touched by humans...

Answer 9

I don't know, but i can tell you that male cats eat baby cats.

Answer 10

i have no idea