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Do Animals kill out of malice?

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dragonzdogma

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Do Animals kill out of malice or any other strange reason/pleasure/jealousy/pride?
if yes or no please let me know why.

I don't remember if this was thought in high school -_-;
 
I'd say they do it out of instinct rather than malice. I feel a higher plateau of intelligence is required for malice which most animals lack. Perhaps dolphins and some primates are capable of malice.
 
Depends on what you define as "malice." I remember reading something about chimps commiting genocide for no tangible benefit (no competition for food or habitat or what have you), which is as close as I can think of.

And dolphin murder naturally.
 
Yes, some animals kill for reasons other than food or self defense. Some do it for entertainment or practice.

However, "malice" is a complex emotion of higher functioning sentient beings, and I don't think any animals are smart enough to be able to understand malice.
 
No. Animals don't know such a thing as malice.

They may get joy of killing the thing, but they don't think of it as killing (generally speaking, dolphins and other more evolved animals may be an exception). For example a cat may play with a dying rat but it doesn't realize the rat is hurting and dying.
 
I heard about some whales that would batter and flip seals or something through the air with their tails for funzies. Not sure if you could say animals are being actively malicious, but they surely do kill sometimes when they really don't need to.
 
SkeptiMism said:
No. Animals don't know such a thing as malice.

They may get joy of killing the thing, but they don't think of it as killing (generally speaking, dolphins and other more evolved animals may be an exception). For example a cat may play with a dying rat but it doesn't realize the rat is hurting and dying.
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Yes they do, felines know exactly when other animal is hurting, sick, old or dying. That's the fundamentals of their hunting and survival
 
Dolphins have been known to hunt and kill porpoises for fun. If I remember correctly, I think the movie Ghost and the Darkness was about a couple of lions that killed for sport. They didn't eat the people they attacked. It was based on a true story, too.
 
I know cats kill just to kill. My sister's cat killed a bird and brought it into the house. It dragged it to my dad's feet and left.
 
maybe instead of generalizing across entire species (human or otherwise) we should just acknowledge that a personality isn't an inherently human quality and that every species has its fair share of assholes.
 
God Dayumm said:
Yes they do, felines know exactly when other animal is hurting, sick, old or dying. That's the fundamentals of their hunting and survival
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Well true, but they don't think of it. It's an instinctive thing. They're not capable of malice or compassion for the animal.
 
SkeptiMism said:
No. Animals don't know such a thing as malice.

They may get joy of killing the thing, but they don't think of it as killing (generally speaking, dolphins and other more evolved animals may be an exception). For example a cat may play with a dying rat but it doesn't realize the rat is hurting and dying.
Click to expand...

I am fairly certain this is not true.
 
Rentahamster said:
Yes, some animals kill for reasons other than food or self defense. Some do it for entertainment or practice.

However, "malice" is a complex emotion of higher functioning sentient beings, and I don't think any animals are smart enough to be able to understand malice.
Click to expand...

kswiston said:
Lions and wolves murder smaller cats/dogs (like cheetahs or coyotes) because they don't want the competition for prey. They don't actually eat the animals they kill in most of these cases.

Chimpanzees go to war with other chimp troupes.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gombe_Chimpanzee_War
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These seem to be competition/survival of the fittest type scenarios not malice, which I think implies no benefit.
 
House Sparrows will destroy nests, ruin eggs and kill chicks - all in the name of competition.

If a female thinks the male is cheating on her... she'll follow him to the new nest and murder his kids so he only has one family (hers) to raise.
 
SkeptiMism said:
Well true, but they don't think of it. It's an instinctive thing. They're not capable of malice or compassion for the animal.
Click to expand...

how do you define malice or compassion?

Isn't acting in such a way as to cause unnecessary pain and suffering pretty much malice?

And by the same argument, isn't acting in such a way as to cause unnecessary pleasure or increased wellbeing pretty much compassion?
 
rexor0717 said:
The elephant part is especially upsetting since I know they're incredibly intelligent. That and dolphins, I'd buy that it's done out of some form of malice.
Click to expand...

Yeah, the elephants made me wonder if I should mark that "NSFW." It's very disturbing behavior.

Elephants do seem capable of displaying compassion so I'd argue they are likely capable of malicious acts as well.
 
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