This bull hippo has likely just taken over the herd, and that means one brutal but instinctive thing: any offspring fathered by the former alpha must be eliminated.

There are two primary reasons for this behavior:

First, when a female hippo has a calf, her attention and energy are devoted to raising it, meaning she won’t be available to mate with the new dominant male. For the new alpha, that’s unacceptable—his goal is to pass on his genes as quickly and broadly as possible. As they say, to the victor go the spoils.

Second, the calf represents the old alpha’s bloodline. The new leader isn’t about to let another male’s genes persist within his territory, nor will he tolerate sharing resources—like access to water—with a rival’s offspring.

Interestingly, this grim act isn’t limited to male hippos. In situations where resources become dangerously scarce, even mothers may resort to killing their own young if they can’t afford to sustain them.

This practice, called infanticide, is a survival mechanism seen across a surprising variety of mammal species. Lions, dolphins, baboons, bears, prairie dogs, meerkats, chimpanzees, and otters have all been documented engaging in it.

While it may be disturbing to us, in the animal kingdom it’s just another harsh strategy in the relentless pursuit of survival and reproductive success.

[📹 petergeraerdts]