To Be Or Not To Be…Eaten – Cannibalism
There are plenty of them, either mannered ones or lacking manners – In case you did not guess I am referring to eating habits. When it comes to food and the way one may like to ingurgitate this food a quite vast array of words comes to my mind. The words would most surely include such terms as organic, sustainable eater, pescatarian, vegetarian, beegan, vegan, raw foodist, fruitarian, these words describing the food preferences and of course I cannot omit mentioning the ways in which one may eat: greedily, splashing and smacking, sipping and the list may go on, being a pretty long one. No wonder the list comes to be so long since at times food occupies a pretty vital role in our lives. And being so vital one may come to the conclusion that he is entitled to eat even its fellow beings just to survive. Or perhaps was it just to enjoy their good taste? I am not sure yet which one was it.
“But if you’re gonna dine with them cannibals / Sooner or later, darling, you’re gonna get eaten…” (Nick Cave). The word of the day comes to be cannibalism, not in the human world but rather in the animal kingdom. How would you describe cannibalism? I’d certainly use such words as creepy, bizarre, grotesque, horror like.
But even so, despite the almost normal fear we tend to feel when it comes to hearing or witnessing cannibalistic acts, some of us tend to get fascinated with it and keep on wanting to discover as many things as possible about this phenomenon as some may call it. I’d say that fascination arises mainly from the fact that one may be interested in what goes on in that human’s or animal’s mind when he or she embarks upon such dreaded activities. When referring to cannibalism such words as consciousness and unconsciousness are often brought into discussion. Either willingly, deliberately or momentarily this act takes place in the world of humans and animals as well.
There have been numerous attempts to describe cannibalism. If you ever wondered what are the origins of this word then the mystery is just about to be revealed; it is said that it all started with some people living on an island, people who were called Cannibals. As you can all imagine there was a very good reason for their name: mainly because they used to organize large merrymakings or barbecues as nowadays people would call them, cooking their enemies. Now do not worry too much about the pain experienced by these enemies as evidences prove that they were first killed. Much like it happens with sexual acts where there is an active and a passive part, the same thing applies to cannibals. They too have been divided by scientists into these two categories. First there are the so called active cannibals who like to do everything on their own (they seem to be quite independent, don’t you think so?) and as such they would both kill and eat their prey. Then there are the so called passive cannibals, those who prefer feasting on already dead members of their species. Isn’t this just nice with all this active, passive division? The cannibalistic activities may take place between the members of equal age (after all a too old meat loses its tenderness, does it?) or it may be common between adults and their babies (Much like in the saying stating that: “I gave you birth, I shall be the one killing you!”). There is even a joke, in fact plenty of jokes on cannibalism. I shall now refer to just one. Do you happen to know the answer to the following question: “when do cannibals leave the table?” You probably know it, but for those of you who do not know the answer here it is: “When everyone’s eaten.”
If it were for me to try and find a proper definition for cannibalism I would prefer quoting Ambrose Bierce who wisely defined it in the “Devil’s Dictionary” as follows: “Cannibal: a gastronome of the old school.” I tend to consider this as being one of the most appropriate definitions ever given to cannibalism, or perhaps it is just the only one I happened to come across while deeply trying to look into this phenomenon. It may be because it is funny too and I prefer getting the good part from everything rather than starting worrying and as such getting even more stressed.
But, since we were talking about cannibalism rather than about stress I shall now continue sharing with you interesting facts about this rather awkward and weird eating habit, a habit both animals and humans happen to share. Did you know that most zoologists consider that cannibalism works as some sort of a controlling factor upon the population and even as some certified evidence on the genetic contribution of a certain individual? Ironically enough it helps in the natural selection process taking place in nature. In order to be able to survive, when food is scarce, some animals may feel an almost irresistible attraction towards the juicy flesh of their fellows. Is cannibalism only destructive or does it have a beneficial side as well? Most of those being questioned regarding this matter said that when talking about overcrowding, cannibalism comes to be a beneficial thing, practically increasing the survival chances of the remaining members of the respective species. After all things seem to be much more different than in the saying “The more, the merrier!” ; this happens mainly because in the case of animals the more part is the equivalent of less food and as such less chances to survive in times of famine, harsh winters or drought. When it comes to animals that simply love to mate and as such happen to have numerous offsprings, like in the case of frogs for example, cannibalism of siblings comes as no surprise as in such cases it is precisely this awkward act that ensures the survival of other offsprings.
No matter how weird this may sound it has been discovered that cannibalism can be an inherited trait, at least when it comes to some species. Joking about it I may say that those poor parents probably had nothing to leave as a heritage to their babies and as such they must have put it like this: “Hmm…..What is there that I can leave to this baby? Some flesh desire, a desire to taste their own family…Sounds good to me!” I really don’t know if this is how things went but what I do know is that there are plenty of animals out there practicing cannibalism. And they do it in various forms and of course for rather various reasons. Some of these reasons have been discovered; some of them haven’t and still remain unknown to us.
I will try to share to you those cases which have been discovered. Believe me, the world of animals can be considered to have numerous facets. Some of them beautiful, others ugly and scary, but no matter the case all facets happen to be nevertheless amazing.
Just to show you how fascinated some people can end up being when it comes to cannibalism I have to share a poem with you, a poem entitled Cannibalism, a poem that was written by Doug Holder. Even though many of you may not be able to deem anything poetic or romantic in the act of cannibalism, some can: “And what could be more intimate? / To deflesh a skull / crack a femur / to get down / to the very marrow. / Is there a greater act of love / as when the prayers of the mantis / are answered / and her lover loses his head over her / after the frenzied copulation? / Or the amoeba / with all consuming passion / shuns his bacterial prey / and engulfs his object of desire / in a zygote for two. / And isn’t it the same, my love/ for me and you.” What do you have to say now? Is this just a sick reflection of the human mind, or is it just a natural, normal portrayal of the human mind? I let you answer this.
And if you tended to envisage cannibalism as a rather simple, bizarre act then you should find out that it is not all that simple. Rumors say that there are more types of cannibalism, namely intrauterine cannibalism, filial cannibalism, the so called eating of children cannibalism or paedophagy as scientists call it, self-cannibalism and of course the most widely known one sexual cannibalism. Where should I start from? All of these types look awkward to me and every piece of information comes to be nevertheless interesting.
When it comes to eating ones children, one can mention such animals as mice, rats, hamsters that end up eating their babies. Usually mothers do this and apparently they do it for a good reason, namely to be able to survive and gather strength in order to continue their life. If food or water happens to be scarce, they will consider their lives of prior importance and will act as such. Even so, cannibalism may occur as well when the den comes to be too overcrowded (unwanted children) or when these animals happen to be too stressed (it works in their case too). If you though that snakes are not capable of eating their children then you should be told that they do it. And mother snakes do it just to regain their lost energy (being pregnant can be quite a tough job in the snakes world!) but they may have a good reason as well, namely to ensure the healthiness of the snake population. As such, whenever a deformed baby snake is born, the mother simply eats it. Quite an easy way to get rid of all that mess!
Did you know that crocodiles, the ferocious, at times dreaded crocodile feeds on smaller crocodiles? Their action should rather be interpreted as some sort of population census; what better way to keep the population under control and ensure its survival during harsh times if not by getting a good bite of this population. An easier, quite innovative way of keeping track of the members of their species, don’t you think so? The same thing occurs when it comes to other animals as well, larger animals tasting the smaller ones.
There are also those animals that fight for supremacy and wishing to gain control over another group of their species will prefer killing and sometimes even consuming whatever infants they happen to find. These animals wish to transmit their own genes and as such there is no other way they envision as possible. Such is the case of lions, certain rodents, chimpanzees and grizzly bears. I am referring here to the males belonging to these species. It may come as a surprise to many of you but baboons too kill and consume infants. Power seems to be granted a whole deal of importance in the animal world, don’t you think so? Taking over a new harem may be an equal good reason to kill infants. We could put it into the following dictum “new women, new territories, personal semen.”
What other animals eat their children? Did you envisage pigs as being harmless? If you did, then you should perhaps think it over. Mainly because evidences show that piglets, a considerable number of them, end up being killed by their own parents.
Among the cuter animals that do the same thing one should also mention the so called Bottlenose dolphins. These ones may end up deadly injuring their babies. I would rather call this accidental death rather than cannibalism but even so they are mentioned as being part of the long list of animals killing their infants.
How about some cannibalism coming as a result of too much passion? In these cases it looks like too much passion can at times prove to be unbearable and as such one needs to die. Such is the case of the Australian redback spider. In their case, during the copulation act the male often ends up being eaten by the female. Apparently she badly feels the need to taste him, literally taste him! Males belonging to these species literally and passionately seem to be rushing towards death. Perhaps they should learn the lesson of caution with such passionate, hungry for love and not only mates. This lesson of caution seems to have been learned by other species of spiders such as the golden crab spider, a spider that lives in Canada and that being wise enough simply uses its spinning skills to sort of imprison the female during the mating act. Quite kinky, don’t you think so? Someone needs to buy them some handcuffs!
Do you remember the wise words being uttered at times by the older women from your family? What words, you will probably ask. The “Don’t lose your head. Be careful. Better be loved more than end up suffering from love.” – Those kind of words. You may at times end up being fed with hearing them, but even so, they prove to have their own importance. You shall see why! The male mantis probably never heard about this and as such when it comes to mating he rushes to take all the passion and unfortunately he ends up being eaten by its very mating partner. Cruel faith, don’t you think so? Perhaps this is the case of what most consider being innate cannibalism. Amazingly enough, even though decapitated males can go on with the copulation thing for hours, until females simply shake their bodies and apparently say “enough!” Quite a passionate relationship, ending in death!
Since I mentioned passion and sensual mating rituals I should as well not fail to mention the already notorious widow, namely the black widow. Even though you know it and I know it too, in fact most of us know it, that one should stay away from this highly venomous and lethal female spider, it looks like the male belonging to these species simply cannot resist her charms and feels irresistibly attracted to her. Being much too smaller than the female, the male stands no chance at times. I say at times, having in mind the information according to which the male does not have the rather tragic faith causing him to die all the times. After all you all probably know that women or females in this case tend to be rather moody! Such is the case of the female black widow too. She probably keeps repeating in her mind “to eat it…or not to eat it”. Much like in the already famous Shakespearian line”To be or not to be”. In this case I’d add “…eaten” to these words. Quite a hard decision to take!
The rivalry between brothers and sisters has been much debated in various literary pieces, in plays and even in real life. And if you tended to think that it all comes down to some stories then most surely you haven’t heard about the so called sand tiger sharks. In the case of these sharks the rivalry between brothers and sisters begins from the very mother’s womb. At some point, while still being in the mother’s womb, they start developing fangs and as such the first thought that crosses their mind seems to be related to the devouring of its younger siblings. Some have interpreted this as a simple attempt to increase one’s chances of survival. Less of them, more chances to have better food! After all life down there in the ocean must be a real battle for survival, don’t you think so?
You probably heard about sexual cannibalism, but have you ever heard about cannibalism coming up as a result of the wish to stay alone? This seems to be the case of scorpions. Rumors say that scorpions simply dislike each other and love to spend their time all by themselves. As such, enjoying rather solitary lives when it comes to organizing a gathering of scorpions they may end up fighting, killing and eating each other. And cannibalism can gain some sexual facets too in their case, because at times they may be practicing what scientists generally label as sexual cannibalism.
What about marching towards death? Out there in the world of animals, there are some animals known under the name of Mormon crickets. These so called crickets are known to engage in rather large migrations, marching in search for food. And they seem so determined to eat whatever they find that whenever one of their own species happens to stop marching, the others will simply devour him. It looks like the subject of a movie to me, yet evidences clearly show that this happens for real!
black widow cannibalism
And since I mentioned crickets, even though some “fake” ones, I shall now mention some facts about the real, authentic ones. And since I am referring to cannibalism in the animal kingdom, you may end up wondering if they too are engaged in such awkward practices. The answer is: yes they are. Have you ever heard about self-cannibalism? As the terms clearly suggest it all comes down to eating parts of your own body. This is the case of the so called Short-tailed cricket, a cricket that is known to eat its wings. Why they do this? I honestly do not know the answer. They must be stressed or upset. This is just about the first thing that comes to my mind whenever I happen to hear about this practice.
What other animals exhibit self-cannibalism? Weird enough the so called Sea squirt is known to eat its brain. The interesting thing in the case of this marine animal is the fact that they afterwards digest it and it becomes a fixed organism. Amazing, isn’t it?
Some species of rat snakes too happen to be quite curious to get a bite of them and as such end up dying (ironically) from their own “bite” or perhaps I should say eating themselves as this is actually what happens in their case.
You may be wondering why these animals become cannibals. Perhaps they do this just to ensure their survival, or they may be doing for fun. And so much fun!
Some animals such as birds seem to be heavily relying upon their eggs and as such they end up eating these eggs. Such is the case of some species of gull that use to nest in rather large communities. As such, they probably think that their community gets somehow too crowded and they start eating the eggs females lay and the young as well. Or they may be doing this just to feed themselves.
If you ever wondered what was the role of the environment and generally speaking the pressures coming from the environment in all these cannibalistic acts then you are just about to find the answer to your question. Living in captivity may certainly influence the behavior some animals display. I am talking here about rats that may end up really stressed and as such start devouring themselves. Whenever animals happen to feel that there are just too many of them and that food is too scarce then they may end up eating themselves or the other members of their species or other species as well. Did you know that even crows eat eggs and even chicks of other rival birds? They seem to be animated in this action by their determination to carry on a successful breeding.
So, now after having discovered part of the many facets of cannibalism taking place in the animal kingdom, can you admit having an animal inside of you? Most of those being animated by rather poetic skills tend to believe this is truer than ever. As such, I should now quote a poem significantly entitled “Animal in You”: “The sweet smile upon your lips / Smooth movement of your hips / Charming gaze / Eyes ablaze / I see the animal in you / The softness of your skin / your ever cheeky grin / Killer nails / Crazy tails / I feel the animal in you / The emotion in your tone / Intensely rich groan / Harsh speech / Now preach / I hear the animal in you / The fierce in your stroll / Kindness of your soul / Heart true / Destined view / I love the animal in you.” The most appropriate question in this moment would perhaps be the one asking you if you happen to love the animal in you too. Do you? And if you do, can you clearly state the reasons why you like it or you dislike it? Some of you would probably deny the existence of an animal within themselves, but even so I tend to think that the animal exists in almost all of us, even if it is nothing but an animal instinct or it is more than this and it comes down to rather more complicated issues such as the much debated cannibalism. And since this attempt to sketch the many facets of cannibalism is nothing but a piece of writing I shall end it all by sharing a joke with you. The joke tries to somehow get deeper into the preferences cannibals happen to have when it comes to choosing between reading and writing. So, here it is: “Why do cannibals prefer eating readers to writers? Because writers cramp but readers digest.” I honestly hope that this comes not to be your opinion too. And if it is, does this make you a cannibal?
