First Observation of Infanticide and Cannibalism in Nest of Chimango Caracara (Milvago chimango)

Abstract

Infanticide and cannibalism are behaviors exhibited between individuals of the same species. Infanticide is aggressive behavior in which a mature animal kills young offspring; cannibalism is a feeding behavior exhibited by genetically related or unrelated individuals of the same species. Filial infanticide occurs when parents kill offspring in their own brood and is sometimes followed by the parents’ consumption of their own young, termed filial cannibalism. Infanticide and cannibalism have been documented in many wildlife species including several species of raptors belonging to several different families (Jones and Manez 1990, Negro et al. 1992, Boal and Bacorn 1994, Garcı´a Dios 2003, Margalida et al. 2004, Kornˇan and Macek 2011, Ortega-Jimenez et al. 2011). These behaviors are difficult to witness, however, especially filial infanticide and filial cannibalism. To appropriately assign these behaviors, a genetic relationship between predator (parent) and prey (offspring) must be established...