Do Animals Always Turn to Self-Cannibalism? Users of Quora Respond

The most recent estimates put the number of species on Earth at around 8.7 million. Of those species, one to two million are believed to be animal species. Every species has distinctive qualities and attributes, many of which might be perplexing to us humans. Cannibalism is one of these characteristics; some animals not only devour other creatures but also occasionally even consume members of their own species. These creatures that turn to self-cannibalism—who are they? Recently, someone asked this subject on Quora, and some intriguing responses were received.

A user responded by claiming that sea squirts eat their own brains to stay alive. This is a rare case of self-cannibalism in animals. Another person mentioned that a cat might be the solution since, although it doesn’t eat itself, it sometimes eats its young. One user said that sometimes snakes even eat themselves. News18 hasn’t verified these responses, however. So let’s investigate more and attempt to use a more trustworthy strategy.

A BBC Wildlife Magazine article states that a variety of animals, including chimpanzees, lions, hippopotamuses, hamsters, and others, are capable of killing and consuming members of their own species. These creatures are said to be cannibals. Rat snakes, sea squirts, praying mantis, hamsters, and octopuses are among the creatures that sometimes consume portions of their own bodies when it comes to self-cannibalism. The short-tailed insects have been seen to eat their own wings.

There is evidence that some animals consume their own nerve tissue as they transition into different life stages. The sea squirt contains a ganglion “brain” in its head that it digests, giving it a tadpole-like look. Although hamsters aren’t known to consume themselves, they have been observed to gnaw on their wounds and remove the decaying skin.

Some species are said to attempt to consume themselves due to stress, laziness, old age, or insatiable hunger.