Patterson I A, Reid R J, Wilson B, Grellier K, Ross H M, Thompson P M
SAC Veterinary Service Division (Inverness), Drummondhill, UK.
Proc Biol Sci. 1998 Jul 7;265(1402):1167-70. doi: 10.1098/rspb.1998.0414.
Most harbour porpoises found dead on the north-east coast of Scotland show signs of attack by sympatric bottlenose dolphins, but the reason(s) for these violent interactions remain(s) unclear. Post-mortem examinations of stranded bottlenose dolphins indicate that five out of eight young calves from this same area were also killed by bottlenose dolphins. These data, together with direct observations of an aggressive interaction between an adult bottlenose dolphin and a dead bottlenose dolphin calf, provide strong evidence for infanticide in this population. The similarity in the size range of harbour porpoises and dolphin calves that showed signs of attack by bottlenose dolphins suggests that previously reported interspecific interactions could be related to this infanticidal behaviour. These findings appear to provide the first evidence of infanticide in cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises). We suggest that infanticide must be considered as a factor shaping sociality in this and other species of cetaceans, and may have serious consequences for the viability of small populations.
在苏格兰东北海岸发现的大多数死亡港湾鼠海豚都有被同域宽吻海豚攻击的迹象，但这些暴力互动的原因仍不清楚。对搁浅宽吻海豚的尸检表明，来自同一地区的八头幼崽中有五头也是被宽吻海豚杀死的。这些数据，连同对一头成年宽吻海豚与一头死亡的宽吻海豚幼崽之间攻击性互动的直接观察，为该种群中的杀婴行为提供了有力证据。显示出被宽吻海豚攻击迹象的港湾鼠海豚和海豚幼崽在体型范围上的相似性表明，先前报道的种间互动可能与这种杀婴行为有关。这些发现似乎提供了鲸类动物（鲸鱼、海豚和鼠海豚）中杀婴行为的首个证据。我们认为，杀婴行为必须被视为塑造这种和其他鲸类物种社会性的一个因素，并且可能对小种群的生存能力产生严重影响。
