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From: J.M.Spencer@newcastle.ac.uk (J.M. Spencer)
Newsgroups: sci.bio,soc.women
Subject: Re: War and Peace and Chimpanzees
Message-ID: <1990Jan30.141042.3903@newcastle.ac.uk>
Date: 30 Jan 90 14:10:42 GMT
References: <12900@cbnewsd.ATT.COM> <1283@oravax.UUCP> <31315@shemp.CS.UCLA.EDU> <2440@leah.Albany.Edu>
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Organization: Computing Laboratory, U of Newcastle upon Tyne, UK NE17RU
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In article <2440@leah.Albany.Edu> ms361@leah.Albany.Edu (Mark Steinberger) writes:
>In article <31315@shemp.CS.UCLA.EDU>, frazier@oahu.cs.ucla.edu (Greg Frazier) writes:
>> There are many species of fish and reptile which prey upon
>> their own young.        ...  On
>> the other hand, it raises questions such as why don't mammilian
>> carnivores such as bears exhibit this behavior?  
>
>But apparently felines do prey on their own young. I've heard it say
>about housecats, but can't give you a quote. But I do know
>that it is explicitly stated in the National Geographic special on
>tigers that tigers will prey on tiger young, and will also fight
>to maim over one another's kills. (Maiming can easily cause death
>in the wild.)
>
>--Mark

When a nomadic lion defeats a lion that owns a pride (by biting the spine of
the defending lion) his next act is to kill all the cubs (because they are not
carrying *his* genes).  The lionesses then flirt greatly with the new lion and
will also abort their current pregnancies.  [BBC television documentary on the
African Lion c. 1988]  This isn't preying on their own young in the true sense.