Why do rats sometimes eat their babies?
Mothers, strange females, and strange males may commit infanticide, all for different reasons. Most infanticide is directed at newborn infants. A mother may kill deformed or wounded infants, possibly so she can allocate resources to the healthy pups who are more likely to survive. A mother may kill her entire litter if she is stressed, thus recovering some of her energetic investment. Malnourished mothers may cannibalize their litters, possibly to balance their diets. A mother who has an abnormal birth experience, such as a c-section, may also kill her litter. Normal full-term labor and delivery through the birth canal may be important for triggering the hormonal profile that accompanies maternal behavior, and these may be disrupted with a c-section, leading to abnormal maternal behavior and infanticide. Mothers who are very young or very old may also commit infanticide. Unrelated adult males may kill a litter to bring the mother back into heat faster so he can sire a litter of his own
