Bears have been known to turn to cannibalism as a food resource. But in a recently released review, an international team of researchers write that many described documented instances are acts of opportunism, not aggression.
Their review, published in Ursus, covers 39 studies recounting 198 occurrences of cannibalism in bears and explores the phenomenon in four species in particular: polar bears, American black bears, Asiatic black bears, and brown bears.
Across the board, infanticide (which the authors define as consumption of unrelated youth) and conspecific strife (consumption of an adult) are the most common forms of cannibalism and are mostly committed by males, according to the review. Filicide (consumption of one’s own dependent young) was less common, and siblicide (consumption of a sibling) was not documented at all.
The review authors write that it’s important to distinguish between predation-fueled cannibalism and scavenging. Researchers have hypothesized that when it comes to ...
