Do any animals besides humans kill at will for no reason? i mean not for food or protection?

Answer 1

Housecats do it because instinct tells them to. If you give them what they kill they will eat it. (experience) But to state what has been given a thumb's down again....

Chimpanzees and dolphins (orcas, aka killer whales are actually the largest dolphin species in the world) are the only other animals other than us that murder AND rape. Lemme see if I can find links to back us up here......

http://whale.wheelock.edu/archives/ask99/0494.html
the 11th point on http://au.msnusers.com/DolphinDefenders/dolphininfo.msnw?action=get_message&mview=0&ID_Message=666&LastModified=4675557364310503820
http://au.msnusers.com/DolphinDefenders/dolphininfo.msnw?action=get_message&mview=0&ID_Message=176&LastModified=4675507057514834180
http://furst.bigwhoop.org/archives/002332.html
http://www.fishingnj.org/artdolphagress.htm

Ok, that should give you something to chew on with the cute little dolphins..... Now for those adorable chimpanzees.....

Blah, all I'm getting on chimp attacks right now is attacks on people, but if you do a little searching you'll find it, I'm sure. I'm tired, and I'm not gonna do all the work for you.
;)
Anywho... There you go.

Answer 2

Hmm, this seems like an opinionated question. Actually humans kill at will for a reason. The reason for killing may not be apparent or rational, but in most cases there is a reason. Unfortunately the reason may not be not justified. All animals kill for reasons other than for food or protection. Animals will eat their young, kill older pack members, for breeding territory. A chimpanzee almost killed a man in Fresno 2 years ago because he brought a cupcake to another Chimp. After losing fingers, genitals and his nose the Chimps were shot off the man saving his life. Remember humans are animals and when we see senseless killings we often comment that the killers are animals.

Answer 3

Yes, all animals can kill for all kinds of reasons. For instance, lion males will kill the cubs from another mating pair when he claims a new pride. A little like starting over.
The difference between humans and other animals in this regard seems to be that we CONTINUE to kill, therefore not allowing anything, or anyone, have anything left. Think "scorched earth," as in the English conquest of North America and the Nazis in Germany. Wild animals kill for all kinds of reasons, but they do stop after their objective has been met and/or failed. They don't destroy their enemies' ability to recover as a species. We do, or at least try to, by destroying their habitat, food access, etc.
It will be our undoing.

Answer 4

I don't think you've gotten this answer yet- but rams will actually kill other animals without being in any way hungry*they don't eat meat) or fearing for their lives. No one really knows why they do this- scientists believe they are just volitile animals that like the ego boost. What ever the reason is- it's crazy

Answer 5

Cats and dogs kill for the fun of it. Not meaning to kill, but cats love to play with moving things. Those moving things include birds, bugs, mice, snakes etc. My cats just like to play with them. They aren't trying to kill them and they don't eat them, they are just having fun.

I've seen them throwing a mouse up in the air and catching it. When it stops moving, they can't understand why. They'll keep swatting at it trying to make it move some more, but obviously after awhile, it's dead and won't move. They leave it lying there.

I went outside one day and seen my 3 dogs tossing a baby armadillo in the air amongst the three of them. They were just playing. I rescued it.

They really mean no harm, they just don't know any better. They definitely aren't killing for food or protection.

Answer 6

There is always a reason for one healthy wild animal to kill another one, be it food, out of defense, protecting territory, dominance, or if they're protecting their young. It's extremely rare for a healthy animal in the wild to kill another animal with no reason behind it.

Answer 7

No. However, animals do kill for more than food or protection; there's dominance battles within a group, or warring against other groups. But again, those cannot be thought of as "kiling for no reason."

Answer 8

jaguars are known to kill just to kill sometimes there are a few videos posted online at www.metacafe.com where one kills a Crocodile and an Anaconda. the crazy thing is it kills them in the water where they have the advantage. The jaguar actually drowns the Crocodile

Answer 9

Chimpanzees kill other chimps from different families (they go out hunting them, not a territory thing)
Dolphins will kill smaller dolphins and play with the corpses.
Orcas (killer whales, like Shamu at Seaworld) kill baby whales and only eat their tongues. Seriously, I saw it on Discovery Channel.

Answer 10

The domestic house cat the the killer of the most species and yes they do it cause its fun and anyone who thinks differant has not spent enough time with thier cat