surplus killing
{{short description|Animal and human predatory behavior}}
File:Stoat and chipmunks.png surplus killing chipmunks (Ernest Thompson Seton, 1909)]]
File:Multiple sheep kill.jpg]]
Surplus killing, also known as excessive killing, henhouse syndrome,{{cite book|last=Moskowitz|first=David|title=Wolves in the Land of Salmon.|date=4 February 2013|publisher=Timber Press|isbn=978-1604692273|pages=144}} or overkill,{{Cite journal|last=Mysterud|first=Ivar|date=1980|title=Bear Management and Sheep Husbandry in Norway, with a Discussion of Predatory Behavior Significant for Evaluation of Livestock Losses|url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/3872873|journal=Bears: Their Biology and Management|volume=4|pages=233–241|doi=10.2307/3872873|jstor=3872873|issn=1936-0614}} is a common behavior exhibited by predators, in which they kill more prey than they can immediately eat and then they either cache or abandon the remainder. The term was invented by Dutch biologist Hans Kruuk after studying spotted hyenas in Africa{{cite book | author= Kruuk, Hans | title= The Spotted Hyena: A study of predation and social behaviour | year= 1972 | isbn= 0-563-20844-9 | page= [https://archive.org/details/velvetclawnatura00macd/page/335 335] | publisher= BBC Books | url-access= registration | url= https://archive.org/details/velvetclawnatura00macd/page/335 }} and red foxes in England.{{cite book | author=Macdonald, David | title=Running with the Fox | year=1987 | isbn=0-04-440199-X | page= 224 | publisher=Unwin Hyman }}{{Cite journal|url=https://zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1469-7998.1972.tb04087.x|doi = 10.1111/j.1469-7998.1972.tb04087.x|title = Surplus killing by carnivores|year = 2009|last1 = Kruuk|first1 = Hans|journal = Journal of Zoology|volume = 166|issue = 2|pages = 233–244}}
Species
Some animals which have been observed engaging in surplus killing hunt alone, some are mainly pack hunters. Some opinions include humans.{{Cite book |title=Living with Coyotes |date=2005-12-31 |url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.7560/706323-005/html |pages=42–52 |chapter=Four Surplus Killing |publisher=University of Texas Press |doi=10.7560/706323-005 |isbn=978-0-292-79696-6 |s2cid=243782280 |access-date=2022-08-10}}
Bears: brown bears,{{Cite journal|last1=Lincoln|first1=Alexandra E|last2=Quinn|first2=Thomas P|date=2019-03-04|title=Optimal foraging or surplus killing: selective consumption and discarding of salmon by brown bears|journal=Behavioral Ecology|volume=30|issue=1|pages=202–212|doi=10.1093/beheco/ary139|doi-access=free}}{{cite web|url=http://www.gi.alaska.edu/ScienceForum/ASF15/1547.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110807080708/http://www.gi.alaska.edu/ScienceForum/ASF15/1547.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=August 7, 2011|title=Far North Grizzlies Develop Taste for Muskoxen, Alaska Science Forum|date=June 21, 2011}} American black bears,{{Cite journal|last1=Horstman|first1=Louise P.|last2=Gunson|first2=John R.|date=1982|title=Black Bear Predation on Livestock in Alberta|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3781799|journal=Wildlife Society Bulletin |volume=10|issue=1|pages=34–39|jstor=3781799}} polar bears.
Large cats: jaguar,{{Citation needed|date=June 2022}} leopards, lions,{{Cite journal|last=Kruuk|first=Hans|date=1972|title=Surplus killing by carnivores|url=https://zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1469-7998.1972.tb04087.x|journal=Journal of Zoology|language=en|volume=166|issue=2|pages=233–244|doi=10.1111/j.1469-7998.1972.tb04087.x}} lynxes.{{Cite journal|last1=Odden|first1=John|last2=Linnell|first2=John D. C.|last3=Moa|first3=Pål Fossland|last4=Herfindal|first4=Ivar|last5=Kvam|first5=Tor|last6=Andersen|first6=Reidar|date=2002|title=Lynx Depredation on Domestic Sheep in Norway|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3802876|journal=The Journal of Wildlife Management|volume=66|issue=1|pages=98–105|doi=10.2307/3802876|jstor=3802876}}
Canines: wolves,{{Cite journal|last1=Miller|first1=Frank L.|last2=Gunn|first2=Anne|last3=Broughton|first3=Eric|date=2011-02-14|title=Surplus killing as exemplified by wolf predation on newborn caribou|url=https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/abs/10.1139/z85-045|journal=Canadian Journal of Zoology|volume=63|issue=2|pages=295–300|language=en|doi=10.1139/z85-045}} coyotes,{{Cite book|last=Ewer|first=R. F.|title=Ethology ofmammals|publisher=Logos Press Ltd.|year=1968|location=London}} red fox, dogs.{{Citation needed|date=June 2022}}
Others: martens,{{Cite journal|last1=Brzeziński|first1=Marcin|last2=Rodak|first2=Łukasz|last3=Zalewski|first3=Andrzej|date=2014|title="Reversed" intraguild predation: red fox cubs killed by pine marten|journal=Acta Theriologica|volume=59|issue=3|pages=473–477|doi=10.1007/s13364-014-0179-8|pmid=24954928|pmc=4058055}} weasels,{{Cite journal|last1=Oksanen|first1=Tarja|last2=Oksanen|first2=Lauri|last3=Fretwell|first3=Stephen D.|date=1985|title=Surplus Killing in the Hunting Strategy of Small Predators|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2461358|journal=The American Naturalist|volume=126|issue=3|pages=328–346|doi=10.1086/284420|jstor=2461358|s2cid=84799770|issn=0003-0147}} honey badgers,{{Cite journal|last1=Shen|first1=Zuolin|last2=Wei|first2=Junjie|date=2018-06-01|title=Hopf bifurcation analysis in a diffusive predator-prey system with delay and surplus killing effect|journal=Mathematical Biosciences and Engineering|volume=15|issue=3|pages=693–715|doi=10.3934/mbe.2018031|pmid=30380326|doi-access=free}} minks,{{Cite journal|date=2002-03-01|title=Surplus killing by introduced predators in Australia—evidence for ineffective anti-predator adaptations in native prey species?|url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0006320701001392|journal=Biological Conservation|language=en|volume=103|issue=3|pages=283–301|doi=10.1016/S0006-3207(01)00139-2|last1=Short|first1=Jeff|last2=Kinnear|first2=J.E.|last3=Robley|first3=Alan|bibcode=2002BCons.103..283S }} raccoons,{{Cite journal|last1=Hartman|first1=Lisa H.|last2=Gaston|first2=Anthony J.|last3=Eastman|first3=Donald S.|date=1997|title=Raccoon Predation on Ancient Murrelets on East Limestone Island, British Columbia|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3802594|journal=The Journal of Wildlife Management|volume=61|issue=2|pages=377–388|doi=10.2307/3802594|jstor=3802594}} spotted hyena, orcas.{{Cite web|date=2015-12-11|title=Suspected surplus killing of harbor seal pups (Phoca vitulina) by killer whales (Orcinus orca)|url=https://www.cascadiaresearch.org/publications/suspected-surplus-killing-harbor-seal-pups-phoca-vitulina-killer-whales-orcinus-orca|access-date=2021-08-09|website=Cascadia Research|language=en}}
Invertebrae: zooplankton,{{Cite journal|last1=Montagnes|first1=David|last2=Fenton|first2=Andy|date=24 September 2012|title=Prey-abundance affects zooplankton assimilation efficiency and the outcome of biogeochemical models|url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304380012002268|journal=Ecological Modelling|volume=243|pages=1–7|doi=10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2012.05.006}} damselfly naiads,{{Cite journal|last1=Lounibos|first1=L. P.|last2=Makhni|first2=S.|last3=Alto|first3=B. W.|last4=Kesavaraju|first4=B.|date=March 2008|title=Surplus Killing by Predatory Larvae of Corethrella appendiculata: Prepupal Timing and Site-Specific Attack on Mosquito Prey|journal=Journal of Insect Behavior|volume=21|issue=2|pages=47–54|doi=10.1007/s10905-007-9103-2|pmid=19081802|pmc=2600435|bibcode=2008JIBeh..21...47L }} predaceous mites,{{Citation needed|date=June 2022}} spiders.
Example cases
In Tasmania, in a single dog attack, 58 little penguins were killed.{{Cite web|url=https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2018/10/17/Dog-attack-kill-58-penguins-in-Tasmania/9631539800130/|title=Dog attack kills 58 penguins in Tasmania|last=Adamczyk|first=Ed|date=2018-10-17|website=UPI|language=en-AU|access-date=2020-04-04}} In mainland Australia, a single fox once killed around 74 penguins over several days, eating almost nothing.{{Cite web|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-08-10/penguins-killed-by-fox-victoria-middle-island/8794828|title=Penguins killed in fox attack on Victoria's Middle Island|last=Peacock|first=Sue|date=2017-08-10|website=ABC News|language=en-AU|access-date=2019-09-26}} One leopard in Cape Province, South Africa killed 51 sheep and lambs in a single incident.{{cite journal |last1=Stuart |first1=C. T. |year=1986 |title=The incidence of surplus killing by Panthera pardus and Felis caracal in Cape Province, South Africa |journal=Mammalia |volume=50 |issue=4 |pages=556–558 |issn=0025-1461 | doi = 10.1515/mamm.1986.50.4.553 }} Similarly, two caracal in Cape Province killed 22 sheep in one night, eating only part of the buttock of one carcass.{{cite journal |last1=Skinner |first1=J. D. |year=1979 |title=Feeding behaviour in Caracal Felis caracal |journal=Journal of Zoology |volume=189 |issue=4 |pages=523–525 | doi = 10.1111/j.1469-7998.1979.tb03979.x }} Up to 19 spotted hyenas once killed 82 Thomson's gazelle and badly injured 27, eating just 16%.{{cite book|last=Mills|first=L. Scott|title=Conservation of wildlife populations: demography, genetics, and management|date=17 December 2012|publisher=Wiley-Blackwell|location=Hoboken, NJ|isbn=9780470671504|pages=148|edition=2nd}}
In late autumn, least weasels often surplus-kill vole and then dig them up and eat them on winter days when it is too cold to hunt. In March 2016, a pack of 9 grey wolves in Wyoming was found to have killed 19 elk. John Lund, of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, said that he had never documented surplus killings that extreme from grey wolves.{{cite web|url=http://www.calgarysun.com/2016/03/25/wyoming-wolf-pack-kills-19-elk-in-rare-surplus-killing|title=Wyoming wolf pack kills 19 elk in rare 'surplus killing'|access-date=2016-03-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160404194628/http://www.calgarysun.com/2016/03/25/wyoming-wolf-pack-kills-19-elk-in-rare-surplus-killing|archive-date=2016-04-04|url-status=dead}} In Florida, laboratory experiments documented cases of surplus killing in larvae of the predatory midge Corethrella appendiculata against specific larval stages of different species of mosquitoes of the genus Toxorhynchites.{{cite journal|author=L.P. Lounibos, S. Mahkni, B.W.Alto, B. Kesavaraju|title=Surplus Killing by Predatory Larvae of Corethrella appendiculata: Prepupal Timing and Site-Specific Attack on Mosquito Prey | journal=Journal of Insect Behavior|volume=21 |number=2 |pages=47–54|date=Mar 2008 |doi= 10.1007/s10905-007-9103-2 |pmid=19081802 |pmc=2600435 |bibcode=2008JIBeh..21...47L }}
Possible causes
In surplus killing, predators eat only the most-preferred animals and animal parts. Bears engaging in surplus killing of salmon are more likely to eat unspawned fish because of higher muscle quality, and high-energy parts such as brains and eggs. Surplus killing can deplete the overall food supply, waste predator energy and risk their being injured. Nonetheless, researchers say animals surplus-kill whenever they can, in order to procure food for offspring and others, to gain valuable killing experience, and to create the opportunity to eat the carcass later when they are hungry again.{{cite book|last=Hansen|first=Kevin|title=Bobcat: master of survival|url=https://archive.org/details/bobcatmastersurv00hans|url-access=limited|year=2006|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=New York|isbn=0195183037|pages=[https://archive.org/details/bobcatmastersurv00hans/page/n130 114]|edition=[Online-Ausg.]}}
See also
References
{{reflist}}
Bibliography
- Jennifer L. Maupin and Susan Reichert, [http://beheco.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/12/5/569 Superfluous killing in spiders].
- Joseph K. Gaydos, Stephen Raverty, Robin W. Baird, and Richard W. Osborne, [http://www.cascadiaresearch.org/robin/GaydosetalNWN2005.pdf#search=%22surplus%20killing%22 SUSPECTED SURPLUS KILLING OF HARBOR SEAL PUPS (PHOCA VITULINA) BY KILLER WHALES (ORCINUS ORCA)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110929115317/http://www.cascadiaresearch.org/robin/GaydosetalNWN2005.pdf#search=%22surplus%20killing%22 |date=2011-09-29 }}.
- William G. George and Timothy Kimmel, [https://web.archive.org/web/20110617101214/http://elibrary.unm.edu/sora/Auk/v094n04/p0782-p0783.pdf#search=%22surplus%20killing%22 A Slaughter of Mice by Common Crows].
- Wildlife Online: Foxes-Surplus Killing, [http://www.wildlifeonline.me.uk/questions_answers_foxes.html#kill Why do foxes kill to excess...].
- For Wolves: Ralph Maughan Wolf Report, [http://www.forwolves.org/ralph/jacksonwolves7-.htm Jackson Trio makes some surplus kills] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060907172227/http://www.forwolves.org/ralph/jacksonwolves7-.htm |date=2006-09-07 }}.
- High Country News, Zachary Smith, [http://www.hcn.org/servlets/hcn.Article?article_id=15048 Wolf pack wiped out for ‘surplus killing’] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060822081003/http://www.hcn.org/servlets/hcn.Article?article_id=15048 |date=2006-08-22 }}.
- Victor Van Ballenberghe, [https://web.archive.org/web/20060917142923/http://wolfsongalaska.org/tech_info.html Technical Information on Wolf Ecology and Wolf/Prey Relationships].
- Pierre-Yves Daoust, Andrew Boyne, Ted D’Eon, [https://web.archive.org/web/20070708185226/http://wildlife1.usask.ca/newsletters/newsletter9-2.htm#terns Surplus killing of Roseate Terns and Common Terns by a mink].