It's a known truth that everyone simply adores cute animals. Even the coldest of hearts can be melted by playful little puppies, and a flock of ducklings waddling along is sure to bring a smile to anyone's face. But just like every other species, these cuddly little critters certainly have their vices. Each of these lovable animals enjoys a rather different kind of diet—all of them regularly practice cannibalism. Cannibalism happens when one member of a species willingly eats other members of the same species, and in many of these cases, it involves the violent murder of friends or family. Even so, the fact that these animals are homicidal maniacs doesn't change the fact that they look adorable.
众所周知，每个人都喜欢可爱的动物。即使是最冷酷的心也会被顽皮的小狗融化，同样，一群蹒跚走过的小鸭子也能使人们脸上挂满笑容。但是，和其他所有物种一样，这些惹人怜爱的小动物也有邪恶的一面哦。它们享受与众不同的饮食方式——经常同类相食。同类相食发生在同一物种里，通常是在成员想要嗜食本物种内其他成员的情况下，与此同时还会引起物种内朋友或家庭间的互相厮杀。即便如此，这些动物是凶杀狂的真相丝毫不会改变它们看起来很讨喜的事实。

10.Prairie Dogs
10.土拨鼠

If all of your sisters have kids with your husband, it's okay to eat the kids, right? Out on the American plains, prairie dogs certainly seem to think so. These adorable burrowing creatures may not be so friendly after all, despite their reputation as our classic furry friends. One seven-year study published in the 1980s showed that acts of cannibalism in colonies of black-tailed prairie dogs caused the deaths of some offspring in 51 percent of all litters.
如果你的姐妹们都和你的丈夫育有众多孩子，那么吃掉这些孩子也就无可厚非，对吗？在美国大平原上，土拨鼠似乎觉得这是天经地义的。尽管土拨鼠被称为我们毛茸茸的好朋友，然而这种可爱的穴居生物也许并没那么友好。发布于20世纪80年代的一项长达七年的科学研究指出，在黑尾土拨鼠聚居地发生的同类残食行为导致了51%的幼崽死亡。
A typical coterie—the name for a family of prairie dogs—is made up of one male, several females, and all the juvenile offspring of the group. Interestingly enough, the cannibalism most often occurs when lactating females in the coterie eat the young of the other females. This means that many end up eating their own nieces and nephews. Some suggest that these violent acts might be efforts to control population density in the colony, but it may be that the nursing mothers are simply desperate for something to eat. The prairie dogs' actions become even more twisted, however, weeks after the killing spree—many females attempt to nurse the very same prairie dog pups that they had tried to eat not long before. Thus, the mass murders of the spring are soon forgotten, and the prairie dogs go back to their simple lives as cute, furry herbivores.
一个典型的土拨鼠圈子——土拨鼠家庭的专属名称——由一只雄性土拨鼠，几只雌性土拨鼠和它们所有的幼崽组成。非常有趣的是，同类相食常常发生在圈子里的哺乳期雌鼠嗜食其它雌鼠后代的情况下。这意味着它们最终吃掉了自己的侄女和侄子。一些人认为这些残忍的举动可能是控制圈子种群密度的有效手段，但也许只是哺乳期的母亲极其渴望获得食物而已。土拨鼠的行为甚至会变得更加扭曲。杀戮盛宴过去几周后——许多雌鼠会试图照料它们不久前想要吃掉的幼崽。因此，春季的互相厮杀很快被抛之脑后，土拨鼠又重新回到它们作为可爱的毛茸茸食草动物的简单生活。

9.Hermit Crabs
9.寄居蟹

Life can be pretty boring for a hermit crab, but when something special happens, like the brutal death of another crab, it's cause for celebration! Hermit crabs certainly seem to be harmless, with their small size and shy nature. When it comes down to survival instincts, though, the crustaceans can be downright savage. When hermit crabs go through a molting stage, they lose their exoskeletons that give them protection. They quickly become prey to other crabs in the area and are often attacked and eaten for food. Extremely aggressive crabs won't even wait for this stage; instead, they will try to rip off a fellow crab's shell and take it for themselves.
对寄居蟹来说，生活可谓是相当枯燥。但是,当一些特殊的事情发生时，比如说其它螃蟹遭遇残酷死亡时，它们就有理由来庆祝了。小小的体型、害羞的天性使寄居蟹看起来完全无害，但归根到底基于其生存本能，这种甲壳类动物事实上十分野蛮。寄居蟹在蜕皮期间会失去带给它们保护的甲壳。于是很快便会成为领域里其它蟹类的捕食品，常受到攻击。而一些极具侵略性的螃蟹不会坐等蜕皮期的到来，相反，它们会试图扯掉其它螃蟹的甲壳拿来自己使用。
Perhaps what truly underlies all this violent behavior, though, is the zealous attitude that the crabs take on. Recent studies have shown that when hermit crabs sense the smell of dead crabs, they immediately become excited and start to hunt for food. Often, the most readily available food is the next hermit crab.
也许，蟹类身上呈现出的狂热态度正是一切残忍行为的根源。近期研究指出，当寄居蟹嗅到死蟹散发出的气味，会立即变得亢奋并全力寻找食物。通常，最触手可得的食物就是它们身边的另一只寄居蟹了。

8.Tadpoles
8.蝌蚪

Growing up is a time of great change and opportunity in a tadpole's life. Every day, these amphibious babies meet someone new who might try to puncture their lungs and eat them. In the pond, eating your own kind alive isn't really a problem for the tadpoles. Studies have shown that tadpoles will eat each other if no better food options are available. Even if there is better food around, though, tadpoles still have to be on the watch when they're in densely packed groups. In these conditions, one or more tadpoles may attack another in a deadly competition—each one is fighting for a chance to reach adulthood, and knocking out other competitors increases their odds of survival.
成长是蝌蚪一生当中充满巨变和机遇的时期。每天，这些两栖类幼体都会遇到想要刺穿它们肺部并吞食它们的新生物。对蝌蚪而言，在池塘里活活吃掉自己的同类并不是什么大不了的事情。研究指出，如果没有更好的可获得的食物选择，蝌蚪就会互相残食。当蝌蚪置身于密集种群中时，即使周围有更好的食物，它们仍然会小心提防。这种情况下，一只或多只蝌蚪会在残酷致命的竞争中攻击其他蝌蚪——每只蝌蚪都在争取进入成年期的机会，淘汰其他竞争者以增加自己的生存机率。
Sometimes, these tadpoles' frog fathers will even deliver them to an area where they are more likely to be eaten by others, a parenting method that would make any human cringe. The fathers drop their children off in ponds where several larger tadpoles also live, possibly because the living conditions of the pond must be good if others are thriving in there. However, this usually only serves to increase the newborn tadpoles' chance of death, as they are often eaten by the other inhabitants. Childhood and adolescence are rough times for everyone, but at least most species don't have to worry about being eaten alive by their friends.
有时，这些蝌蚪的青蛙爸爸甚至将它们送到更易于被其他生物捕食的区域，着实是让人类畏惧的育儿方式。青蛙爸爸把小蝌蚪放到同样有大蝌蚪生存的池塘里，可能是因为其他蝌蚪互相残杀的生活使得池塘的生存条件很好。然而，这种做法通常只会增加新生蝌蚪死亡的可能性，因为它们会被其它池塘居住者吃掉。童年岁月和青春期对于每个人而言都是艰苦的时光，但至少大多数物种不必担心会被自己的朋友同伴活活吃掉。

7.Hedgehogs
7.刺猬

In a hedgehog's world, there is a surefire method that can help to deal with fear: keep calm and devour your newborn babies. These endearing, spiky animals are commonly kept as pets, but many owners don't realize that hedgehogs often turn cannibal when breeding time comes around. These timid creatures get scared very easily, especially right after a mother has given birth. First of all, the presence of another male hedgehog right after breeding creates tension among the hedgehog family. Second, when kept in captivity, nearly any disturbance can be extremely frightening for a hedgehog, causing them to become stressed out. Finally, a cramped or small living area can lead to aggressive behavior.
在刺猬的世界里，有一种应对恐惧的必胜方法：保持镇静，然后吞噬掉自己的新生儿。这种可爱的浑身长刺的小动物通常被当做宠物饲养，但大多数主人并不知道繁殖期到来时刺猬会同类相食。刺猬这种胆小的生物极易受到惊吓，尤其是刺猬妈妈分娩之后。首先，繁殖过后，另一雄性刺猬的出现给刺猬家庭制造了紧张气氛。其次，当被圈养起来，几乎任何的干扰都会极大地惊吓到刺猬，使它们变得紧张焦虑。最后，狭窄或小的生存空间会引起刺猬的攻击行为。
All of these factors often cause one or both hedgehog parents to take drastic measures. If either parent has the slightest inkling of fear, it will not hesitate to abandon or even eat its own newborn babies. In some ways, the hedgehogs just use their children as comfort food in times of distress.
上述这些因素常会激起刺猬父母中的一方或双方采取猛烈措施。如果刺猬父母受到哪怕是一丁点儿的惊吓，也会毫不犹豫地抛弃甚至是吃掉自己的新生儿。某种程度上讲，刺猬将自己的孩子作为困境中的安慰食物。

6.Ducklings
6.小鸭子

It's impossible not to love these cuddly birds, and no one can resist watching a flock of ducklings waddling around. Many don't realize, however, that ducks aren't opposed to cannibalism, even at a young age. Ducklings that are only four weeks old can develop the practice of eating other ducklings.
你很难不爱上这些逗人喜爱的小鸟，没有人会抗拒观看鸭群蹒跚而过的可爱模样。大多数人并不会意识到，但事实上，鸭子并不反对同类相食，并且在它们很小的时候就表现出了。四周大的小鸭子就可以试着嗜食其他鸭子了。
What's even more surprising is the motivation behind this cruelty. Cannibalism may simply be spurred on by boredom. Of course, other factors such as crowding, poor ventilation, and a lack of nutrients can contribute to a duckling's urge to eat other ducklings. These poultry are prone to pecking and tearing at each other before eating parts of other ducklings. They also like to imitate each other, so acts of aggression and cannibalism spread quickly throughout a flock. As more and more ducklings join in the fun, a flock can easily tally up high death toll.
更让人震惊的是这种残暴行为背后的动机。同类相食可能是在厌倦因素的驱使下发生的。当然，诸如拥挤、通风不好、营养不良的其他因素也会促使鸭子嗜食同类。这些家禽在吃其他小鸭前会相互撕啄。它们同样喜欢相互模仿，所以攻击及同类相食行为在鸭群中迅速扩散，当越来越多的鸭子加入到这种“其乐无穷”的活动中，一群家禽轻而易举地就制造了相当高的死亡数字。

翻译:murphy 来源:前十网