Cannibalism

by Bill Schutt

  26 But even in the 90 or so: Ibid., pp. 244–45.

  29 But in sand tiger sharks: R. G. Gilmore, J. W. Dodrill, and P. A. Linley, “Reproduction and embryonic development of the sand tiger shark, Odontapsis taurus (Rafinesque),” Fishery Bulletin 8, no. 2 (1983): 201–25.

  29 These embryos (averaging 19: G. Polis, “The evolution and dynamics of intraspecific predation,” Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 12 (1981): 241.

  31 Cannibalism of the young also occurs: G. Polis and C. Myers, “A survey of intraspecific predation among reptiles and amphibians,” Journal of Herpetology 19, no. 1 (1985): 99.

  31 significant juvenile mortality in the American alligator: M. Delany, A. Woodward, R. Kiltie, and C. Moore, “Mortality of American alligators attributed to cannibalism,” Herpetologica 67, no. 2 (2011): 174–85.

  31 Cannibalism is relatively rare among birds: D. Mock, “Infanticide, siblicide, and avian nestling mortality,” in Infanticide, edited by Glenn Hausfeter and Sarah Blaffer Hrdy (Hawthorne, NY: Aldine Publishing, 1984), p. 6.

  32 In one study of a colony of 900 herring gulls: J. Parsons, “Cannibalism in herring gulls,” British Birds 64 (1971): 528–37.

  32 Sibling cannibalism, in which brothers: M. Stanback and W. Koenig, “Pup cannibalism in rodents,” in Cannibalism: Ecology and Evolution among Diverse Taxa, edited by Mark Elgar and Bernard Crespi (New York: Oxford University Press, 1992), pp. 285–86.

  33 filial cannibalism in birds: Ibid., pp. 285–87.

  Chapter 3—Sexual Cannibalism, or Size Matters

  36 Back then, several authors claimed: Two examples are L. O. Howard, “The excessive voracity of the female mantis,” Science 8 (1886): 326; J. H. Fabré, Souvenirs Entomologiques, vol. 5 (Paris: De Lagrave, 1897).

  37 One hypothesis reasoned that the male mantis’s brain: K. D. Roeder, “An experimental analysis of the sexual behavior of the praying mantis (Mantis religiosa),” Biological Bulletin 69 (1935): 203–20.

  39 They believe that, rather than acting as a stimulus: E. Liske and W. J. Davis, “Courtship and mating behavior of the Chinese praying mantis, Tenodera sinensis,” Animal Behavior 35 (1987): 1524–37.

  39 After several papers in the 1930s and 1940s: Two examples are W. B. Herms, S. F. Baily, and B. McIvor, “The black widow spider,” California Agricultural Experimental Station Bulletin 59 (1935): 1–29; R. N. Smithers, “Contribution to our knowledge of the genus Latrodectus in South Africa,” Annals of the South African Museum 36 (1944): 263–312.

  40 They determined that not only did most male spiders: R. F. Foelix, Biology of Spiders (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1982), p. 316.

  40 sexual cannibalism has been reported in 16: M. Elgar, “Sexual cannibalism in spiders and other invertebrates,” in Cannibalism: Ecology and Evolution among Diverse Taxa, edited by Mark Elgar and Bernard Crespi (New York: Oxford University Press, 1992), pp. 129–43.

  41 The next phase of redback courtship begins: L. M. Forster, “The stereotypical behavior of sexual cannibalism in Latrodectus hasselti (Araneae: Theridiidae), the Australian redback spider,” Australian Journal of Zoology 40 (1992): 1–11.

  44 Mark Elgar and zoologist David Nash worked with this species: M. Elgar and D. Nash, “Sexual cannibalism in the garden spider, Araneus diadematus,” Animal Behavior 36 (1988): 1511–71.

  45 To determine why, arachnologist Anita Aisenberg: A. Aisenberg, F. Costa, and M. Gonzalez, “Male sexual cannibalism in a sand-dwelling wolf spider with sex role reversal,” Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 103, no. 1 (2011): 68–75.

  46 Cannibalism by males also occurs in the aptly named water spiders: D. Schütz and M. Taborsky, “Mate choice and sexual conflicts in the size dimorphic water spider Argyroneta aquatica (Araneae, Argyronetidae),” Journal of Arachnology 33 (2005): 767–75.

  48 banana slugs (genus Ariolimax): H. Reise and J. Hutchinson, “Penis-biting slugs: Wild claims and confusions,” Trends in Ecology and Evolution 17, no. 4 (2002): 163.

  50 Chase and his colleagues showed that this hormonelike substance: R. Chase and K. Blanchard, “The snail’s love-dart delivers mucus to increase paternity,” Proceedings of the Royal Society B 273 (2006): 1471– 75.

  50 Additionally, a 2013 study by Japanese researchers: K. Kimura, K. Shibuya, and S. Chiba, “The mucus of a land snail love-dart suppresses subsequent matings in darted individuals,” Animal Behavior 85 (2013): 631–35.

  Chapter 4—Quit Crowding Me

  53 According to biologist and Mormon cricket expert: S. J. Simpson, G. Sword, P. Lorch, and I. Couzin, “Cannibal crickets on a forced march for protein and salt,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 103, no. 11 (2006): 4152–56.

  53 Simpson and his coworkers conducted food preference tests: Ibid.

  54 Initially, cannibalism on poultry farms: R. Trudelle-Schwarz, “Cannibalism: Chicken Little meets Hannibal Lector?” Behave: Stories of Applied Animal Behavior, http://www.webpages.uidaho.edu/range556/appl_behave /projects/chicken_cannibalism.html (accessed September 12, 2016).

  55 researchers now believe that it’s actually misdirected foraging behavior: B. Huber-Eicher and B. Wechsler, “The effect of quality and availability of foraging materials on feather pecking in laying hen chicks,” Animal Behaviour 55 (1998): 861–73.

  56 The results of a study on golden hamsters: R. Gattermann, R. Johnston, N. Yigit, P. Fritzsche, S. Larimer, S. Özkurt, K. Neumann, Z. Song, E. Colak, J. Johnson, and M. McPhee, “Golden hamsters are nocturnal in captivity but diurnal in nature,” Biology Letters 4 (2008): 253–55.

  57 As a result of this laundry list: R. Elwood, “Pup-cannibalism in rodents: Causes and consequences,” in Cannibalism: Ecology and Evolution among Diverse Taxa, edited by Mark Elgar and Bernard Crespi (New York: Oxford University Press, 1992), pp. 299–322.

  58 M. auratus has the shortest gestation period: Encyclopedia of Life, http://eol.org/pages/1179513/details.

  58 When non-human primates (i.e., monkeys and apes): M. Hiraiwa-Hasegawa, “Cannibalism among non-human primates,” in Elgar and Crespi, Cannibalism, pp. 323–38.

  59 “A female who loses her infant: J. Goodall, “Infant killing and cannibalism in free-living chimpanzees,” Folia primatologica 28 (1977): 271.

  59 Other attacks by male chimps on infant-baring females: Ibid., p. 260.

  60 Goodall believes that the attacks: Ibid., p. 269.

  61 A team led by comparative psychologist: S. Anitei, “Female chimps practice heavily infanticide and cannibalism,” Softpedia, May 15, 2007, http://news.softpedia.com/news/Female-Chimps-Practice-Heavily -Infanticide-and-Cannibalism-54687.shtml.

  Chapter 5—Bear Down

  62 “Polar Bears Are Turning to Cannibalism: B. Johnson, “Polar bears are turning to cannibalism as Arctic ice disappears, ” Think Progress, December 8, 2011, http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2011/12/08/385037 /polar-bears-are-turning-to-cannibalism-as-arctic-ice-disappears/.

  62 “Is Global Warming Driving Polar Bears: N. Wolchover, “Is global warming driving polar bears to cannibalism?” Live Science, December 15, 2011, http://www.livescience.com/17500-global-warming-driving-polar -bears-cannibalism.html.

  62 “Polar Bear Cannibalism Linked to: O. Grigoras, “Polar bear cannibalism linked to climate change,” Softpedia, December 9, 2011, http://news.softpedia.com/news/Polar-Bear-Cannibalism-Linked-to-Climate -Change-239585.shtml.

  63 Cannibalism has been recorded in at least 14: G. Polis, “The evolution and dynamics of intraspecific predation,” Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 12 (1981): 231.

  63 Heterocannibalism, in this case, eating the cubs: B. Bertram, “Social factors influencing reproduction in wild lions,” Journal of Zoology 177 (1975): 463–82.

  66 “Polar bears will readily eat other polar bears: M. Taylor, T. Larsen, and R. Schweinsburg, “Observations of intraspecific aggression and cannibalism in polar bears (Ursus maritimus),” Arctic 38, no. 4 (1985): 303.

  67 The mess came about soon after the 2006: S. C. Am
strup, I. Stirling, T. Smith, C. Perham, and G. Thiemann, “Recent observations of intraspecific predation and cannibalism among polar bears in the southern Beaufort Sea,” Polar Biology 29 (2006): 997–1002.

  67 “The underlying causes for our cannibalism: Ibid., p. 1001.

  67 “chance observations of previously unobserved: Ibid.

  67 “the first population segment to show: Ibid.

  68 the first published report surfacing in 1897: F. Nansen, Farthest North, vol. 2 (London: MacMillan and Company, 1897), 254–56.

  68 “GRAPHIC PHOTOS”: J. Zelman, “Polar bear eats cub: Cannibalism may be on the rise (GRAPHIC PHOTOS),” Huffington Post, December 8, 2011, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/08/polar-bear-eats-cub -cannibalism_n_1136428.html.

  Chapter 6—Dinosaur Cannibals?

  69 In 1947, a team from the American Museum of Natural History: S. Nesbitt, A. Turner, G. Erickson, and M. Norell, “Prey choice and cannibalistic behavior in the theropod Coelophysis,” Biological Letters 2 (2006): 611.

  70 Led by paleontologists Sterling Nesbitt: Ibid., pp. 611–14.

  71 In a much-publicized case: Aase Jacobsen, “Feeding behavior of carnivorous dinosaurs as determined by tooth marks on dinosaur bones,” Historical Biology 13, no. 1 (1998): 17–26.

  71 They concluded that while cannibalism: Nesbitt et al., “Prey choice and cannibalistic behavior in the theropod Coelophysis,” p. 614.

  71 “cannibalism seems to have been a surprisingly common: N. Longrich, J. John Horner, G. Erickson, and P. Currie, “Cannibalism in Tyrannosaurus rex,” PLoS ONE 5, no. 10 (2010): e13419, http://www.plosone.org /article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0013419.

  73 the only compelling evidence for dinosaur cannibalism: R. Rogers, D. Krause, and K. Curry Rogers, “Cannibalism in the Madagascan dinosaur, Majungatholus atropus,” Nature, 422 (2003): 515–18.

  Chapter 7—File Under: Weird

  79 All caecilians do share one characteristic: M. Wake, “Fetal maintenance and its evolutionary significance in the Amphibia: Gymnophiona,” Journal of Herpetology 11, no. 4 (1977): 384.

  80 she referred to as “secretory beds”: Ibid., p. 380

  80 Parker had previously labeled “uterine milk”: Ibid.

  80 “a thick white creamy material: Ibid.

  81 Wake proposed that fetal caecilians: Ibid.

  81 In 2006, caecilian experts: A. Kupfer, H. Müller, M. Antoniazzi, C. Jared, H. Greven, R. Nussbaum, and M. Wilkinson, “Parental investment by skin feeding in a caecilian amphibian,” Nature 440 (2006): 926–29.

  82 “The outer layer is what they eat”: J. Owen, “Flesh-eating baby ‘worm’ feasts on mom’s skin,” National Geographic News, April 12, 2006.

  83 It also explained why mothers: Kupfer et al., “Parental investment by skin feeding in a caecilian amphibian,” p. 927.

  83 Scientists now believe: Ibid., p. 928.

  Chapter 8—Neanderthals and the Guys in the Other Valley

  85 These anatomical differences led him to conclude: R. Roger Lewin and R. Foley, Principles of Human Evolution (Oxford, UK: Wiley-Blackwell, 2004), p. 395.

  86 Huxley announced that Homo sapiens had descended: T. H. Huxley, Evidence as to Man’s Place in Nature (London: Williams & Norgate, 1864), p. 159.

  87 The anthropologist also claimed: Ian Tattersall, The Fossil Trail (New York: Oxford University Press, 2009), p. 47.

  87 In “The Grisly Folk”: H. G. Wells, “The grisly folk,” Storyteller Magazine, April 1921, http://www.trussel.com/prehist/grisly.htm.

  88 “Every feature that Boule stressed: N. Eldridge and I. Tattersall, The Myths of Human Evolution (New York: Columbia University Press, 1982), p. 76.

  88 what is known as the Regional Continuity hypothesis: M. H. Wolpoff, J. Hawks, R. Caspari, “Multiregional, not multiple origins,” American Journal of Physical Anthropology 112 (2000): 129–36.

  90 Supporting this stance are recent morphological: E. Kranioti, R. Holloway, S. Senck, T. Ciprut, D. Grigorescu, and K. Harvati, “Virtual assessment of the endocranial morphology of the early modern european fossil Calvaria from Cioclovina, Romania,” Anatomical Record 294, no. 7 (2011): 1083–92.

  90 mitochondrial DNA studies that indicate: J. P. Noonan, “Neanderthal genomics and the evolution of modern humans,” Genome Research 20, no. 5 (2010): 547–53.

  90 Further support came from: M. Currat and L. Excoffier, “Strong reproductive isolation between humans and Neanderthals inferred from observed patterns of introgression,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Science 108, no. 37 (2011): 15129–34.

  91 briefly argued in 1866: Ian Tattersall, The Last Neanderthal (New York: Macmillan, 1996), p. 88.

  91 researchers now believe that a hyena: T. White, N. Toth, P. Chase, G. Clark, N. Conrad, J. Cook, F. d’Errico, R. Donahue, R. Gargett, G. Giacobini, A. Pike-Tay, and A. Turner, “The question of ritual cannibalism at Grotta Guattari [and comments and replies],” Current Anthropology 32, no. 2 (1991): 118–38.

  91 multiple sites in northern Spain, southeastern France, and Croatia: Ibid., p. 58-65.

  92 “Bodies may be buried, burned, placed: T. White, “Once were cannibals,” Scientific American, August 2001, p. 61.

  93 Archaeologists now consider this type: Ibid., p. 62.

  93 An excavation begun there in 1991: A. Defleur, T. White, P. Valensi, L. Slimak, and E. Crégut-Bonnoure, “Neanderthal cannibalism at Moula-Guercy, Ardèche, France,” Science 286 (1999): 128–31.

  94 In 2000, researchers working: R. Marlar, B. Leonard, B. Billman, P. Lambert, and J. Marlar, “Biochemical evidence of cannibalism at a prehistoric Puebloan site in southwestern Colorado,” Nature 401 (2000): 74–78.

  94 It is a finding that has been: K. Dongoske, D. Martin, and T. Ferguson, “Critique of the claim of cannibalism at Cowboy Wash,” American Antiquity 65, no. 1 (2000): 179–90.

  95 One instance in which the evidence: Y. Fernández-Jalvo, J. Diez, I. Cáceres, J. Rosell, “Human cannibalism in the early Pleistocene of Europe (Gran Dolina, Sierra de Atapuerca, Burgos, Spain),” Journal of Human Evolution 37 (1999): 591–622.

  96 The first fossils of this species: Tattersall, The Fossil Trail, p. 228.

  96 Excavation of the pit: Ibid., p. 229.

  96 the site has yielded more than 5,000 bone fragments: Ibid., p. 229.

  96 including a large pelvis: Ibid., p. 230.

  96 “tool-induced surface modification”: Fernández-Jalvo et al., “Human cannibalism in the early Pleistocene of Europe,” p. 599.

  97 “the victims of other humans: Ibid., p. 620.

  Chapter 9—Columbus, Caribs, and Cannibalism

  99 The captain . . . took two parrots: P. Hulme, “Introduction: The cannibal scene,” in Cannibalism and the Colonial World, edited by Francis Barker, Peter Hulme, and Margaret Iversen (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1998), p. 16.

  100 “[The Arawaks] are fitted to be ruled: U. Bitterli and R. Robertson, Cultures in Conflict: Encounters Between European and Non-European Cultures, 1492–1800 (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1993), p. 75.

  101 these warrior women lived on their own island: C. Sauer, The Early Spanish Main (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1966), p. 23.

  101 preparing their viands by smoking them: R. Tannahill, Flesh & Blood: A History of the Cannibal Complex (London: Little, Brown, 1975, 1996), p. 108.

  102 some Caribs had doglike faces: F. Lestringant, Cannibals: The Discovery and Representation of the Cannibal from Columbus to Jules Verne, translated by Rosemarie Morris (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1997), pp. 15–19.

  103 the transition from Carib to Canib: D. Korn, M. Radice, and C. Hawes, Cannibal: The History of the People-Eaters (London: Channel 4 Books, 2001), p. 11.

  103 I agree with Yale professor: C. Rawson, “Unspeakable rites: Cultural reticence and the cannibal question,” Social Research 66, no. 1 (1999): 167–93.

  105 “why God Our Lord: Sauer, The Early Spanish Main, p. 98.


  105 If such cannibals continue to resist: N. Whitehead, “Carib cannibalism: The historical evidence,” Journal de la Société des Américanistes 70 (1984): 69–88.

  105 Pope Innocent IV decreed in 1510: Ibid., p. 72.

  105 On islands where no cannibalism had been reported: W. Arens, The Man-Eating Myth (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1979), p. 51.

  106 Rodrigo de Figueroa, the former governor: Whitehead, “Carib cannibalism,” p. 71.

  107 According to historian David Stannard, “Wherever the marauding: D. E. Stannard, American Holocaust: Conquest of the New World (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992), p. 69.

  107 The diseases the Spaniards carried: Ibid., p. 68.

  107 Stannard believes that by the end: Ibid., p. 95.

  107 Political scientist Rudolf Rummel estimates: R. J. Rummel, Death by Government (New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers, 1994), chap. 3, http://www.hawaii.edu/powerkills/DBG.CHAP3.HTM.

  Chapter 10—Bones of Contention

  110 anthropologist Neil Whitehead suggests: N. Whitehead, “Carib cannibalism: The historical evidence,” Journal de la Société des Américanistes 70 (1984): 69–88.

  111 “The ordinary food of the Caribs: Ibid., p. 77.

  111 ritualized cannibalism can be differentiated: L. R. Goldman, “From pot to polemic: Uses and abuses of cannibalism,” in The Anthropology of Cannibalism, edited by Laurence R. Goldman (Westport, CT: Bergin and Garvey, 1999), p. 44.

  112 In the Pacific Theater during World War II: C. Hearn, Sorties Into Hell: The Hidden War on Chichi Jima (Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood Publishing Group, 2003), p. 226.

  113 The lucky man’s name was Lt. George H. W. Bush: C. Laurence, “George Bush’s comrades eaten by their Japanese POW guards,” Telegraph, October 26, 2003.

  113 Anthropologist Beth Conklin studied the Wari’: B. A. Conklin, Consuming Grief: Compassionate Cannibalism in an Amazonian Society (Austin, TX: University of Texas Press, 2001), p. 368.

  113 “Wari’ are keenly aware that prolonged grieving: Ibid., p. xxi.

  114 “cold, wet and polluting”: Ibid., p. xviii.

  114 “to leave a loved one’s body: Ibid.