HN Explorer

Ask HN: Are there examples of animals that beat their children?

1 points by kalu ↗ HN
I read this morning that “a sizable chunk of humanities children were beaten by their parents” in the 18th century. Sure. Seems believable at first. But also grotesque. And I can’t think of a single example of animals beating their children. Am I wrong in concluding that humans are unique in this regard ? What does it say about us ?

5 comments

[ 1.7 ms ] story [ 17.8 ms ] thread
policipal
Lions, Chickens, Hamsters, and polar bears are all known to eat their own offspring. You might say that qualifies. A wide variety of animals to long to list are quite rough with their offspring while being raised. It's the norm rather than the exception.
sidcool
Yes. I have seen videos where a lion mother disciplined her cub when the cub tried to eat before the male lion.

In another video, a chimp or Gorilla father stared down an adolescent when he/she threw dirt on the father.

I think animals are much more brutal than just beating. Many do infanticide / cannibalism frequently.

ThrowawayR2
A rather large number of animals kill and eat their young: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/140328-sl...

Seems unlikely to be fruitful to look to the animal kingdom as a benchmark for moral purity (and by human standards at that).

rmbyrro
Maybe natural selection plays a role?

Animals that were too soft with their offspring failed to prepare them for a tough world and, thus, also failed to secure long term species survival.

giantg2
"Seems believable at first. But also grotesque."

Depends on the severity, frequency, and reason. It might not be that grotesque. For example, I was spanked when I was bad. Does that fit the definition?