Surplus killing

Short description: Animal and human predatory behavior

A stoat surplus killing chipmunks (Ernest Thompson Seton, 1909) Multiple sheep killed by a cougar

Surplus killing, also known as excessive killing, henhouse syndrome,[1][2] or overkill,[3] 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[4] and red foxes in England.[5][6]

## Contents

* 1 Species
* 2 Example cases
* 3 Possible causes
* 4 See also
* 5 References
* 6 Bibliography

## Species

Some animals which have been observed engaging in surplus killing hunt alone, some are mainly pack hunters. Some opinions include humans.[7]

Bears: brown bears,[8][9] American black bears,[10] polar bears.[11]

Large cats: jaguar, leopards,[12] lions,[11][12] lynxes.[13]

Canines: wolves,[14] coyotes,[11][15] red fox,[5][6] dogs.[16]

Others: martens,[17] weasels,[18] honey badgers,[12] minks,[19] raccoons,[20] spotted hyena,[4] orcas.[21]

Invertebrates: zooplankton,[22] damselfly naiads,[23] predaceous mites, spiders.[12]

## Example cases

In Tasmania, in a single dog attack, 58 little penguins were killed.[16] In mainland Australia, a single fox once killed around 74 penguins over several days, eating almost nothing.[24] One leopard in Cape Province, South Africa killed 51 sheep and lambs in a single incident.[25] Similarly, two caracal in Cape Province killed 22 sheep in one night, eating only part of the buttock of one carcass.[26] Up to 19 spotted hyenas once killed 82 Thomson's gazelle and badly injured 27, eating just 16%.[1]

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.[27] 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.[28]

## 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.[1] 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.[1][29]

## See also

* Overkill

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Mills, L. Scott (17 December 2012). Conservation of wildlife populations: demography, genetics, and management (2nd ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley-Blackwell. pp. 148. ISBN 9780470671504.
2. ↑ Moskowitz, David (4 February 2013). Wolves in the Land of Salmon.. Timber Press. pp. 144. ISBN 978-1604692273.
3. ↑ Mysterud, Ivar (1980). "Bear Management and Sheep Husbandry in Norway, with a Discussion of Predatory Behavior Significant for Evaluation of Livestock Losses". Bears: Their Biology and Management 4: 233–241. doi:10.2307/3872873. ISSN 1936-0614. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3872873.
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Kruuk, Hans (1972). The Spotted Hyena: A study of predation and social behaviour. BBC Books. p. 335. ISBN 0-563-20844-9. https://archive.org/details/velvetclawnatura00macd/page/335.
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Macdonald, David (1987). Running with the Fox. Unwin Hyman. p. 224. ISBN 0-04-440199-X.
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Kruuk, Hans (2009). "Surplus killing by carnivores". Journal of Zoology 166 (2): 233–244. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7998.1972.tb04087.x. https://zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1469-7998.1972.tb04087.x.
7. ↑ "Four Surplus Killing". Living with Coyotes. University of Texas Press. 2005-12-31. pp. 42–52. doi:10.7560/706323-005. ISBN 978-0-292-79696-6. https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.7560/706323-005/html. Retrieved 2022-08-10.
8. ↑ Lincoln, Alexandra E; Quinn, Thomas P (2019-03-04). "Optimal foraging or surplus killing: selective consumption and discarding of salmon by brown bears". Behavioral Ecology 30 (1): 202–212. doi:10.1093/beheco/ary139.
9. ↑ "Far North Grizzlies Develop Taste for Muskoxen, Alaska Science Forum". June 21, 2011. http://www.gi.alaska.edu/ScienceForum/ASF15/1547.html.
10. ↑ Horstman, Louise P.; Gunson, John R. (1982). "Black Bear Predation on Livestock in Alberta". Wildlife Society Bulletin 10 (1): 34–39. https://www.jstor.org/stable/3781799.
11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Kruuk, Hans (1972). "Surplus killing by carnivores" (in en). Journal of Zoology 166 (2): 233–244. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7998.1972.tb04087.x. https://zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1469-7998.1972.tb04087.x.
12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 Shen, Zuolin; Wei, Junjie (2018-06-01). "Hopf bifurcation analysis in a diffusive predator-prey system with delay and surplus killing effect". Mathematical Biosciences and Engineering 15 (3): 693–715. doi:10.3934/mbe.2018031. PMID 30380326.
13. ↑ Odden, John; Linnell, John D. C.; Moa, Pål Fossland; Herfindal, Ivar; Kvam, Tor; Andersen, Reidar (2002). "Lynx Depredation on Domestic Sheep in Norway". The Journal of Wildlife Management 66 (1): 98–105. doi:10.2307/3802876. https://www.jstor.org/stable/3802876.
14. ↑ Miller, Frank L.; Gunn, Anne; Broughton, Eric (2011-02-14). "Surplus killing as exemplified by wolf predation on newborn caribou" (in en). Canadian Journal of Zoology 63 (2): 295–300. doi:10.1139/z85-045. https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/abs/10.1139/z85-045.
15. ↑ Ewer, R. F. (1968). Ethology ofmammals. London: Logos Press Ltd..
16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Adamczyk, Ed (2018-10-17). "Dog attack kills 58 penguins in Tasmania" (in en-AU). https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2018/10/17/Dog-attack-kill-58-penguins-in-Tasmania/9631539800130/.
17. ↑ Brzeziński, Marcin; Rodak, Łukasz; Zalewski, Andrzej (2014). ""Reversed" intraguild predation: red fox cubs killed by pine marten". Acta Theriologica 59 (3): 473–477. doi:10.1007/s13364-014-0179-8. PMID 24954928.
18. ↑ Oksanen, Tarja; Oksanen, Lauri; Fretwell, Stephen D. (1985). "Surplus Killing in the Hunting Strategy of Small Predators". The American Naturalist 126 (3): 328–346. doi:10.1086/284420. ISSN 0003-0147. https://www.jstor.org/stable/2461358.
19. ↑ Short, Jeff; Kinnear, J.E.; Robley, Alan (2002-03-01). "Surplus killing by introduced predators in Australia—evidence for ineffective anti-predator adaptations in native prey species?" (in en). Biological Conservation 103 (3): 283–301. doi:10.1016/S0006-3207(01)00139-2. Bibcode: 2002BCons.103..283S. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0006320701001392.
20. ↑ Hartman, Lisa H.; Gaston, Anthony J.; Eastman, Donald S. (1997). "Raccoon Predation on Ancient Murrelets on East Limestone Island, British Columbia". The Journal of Wildlife Management 61 (2): 377–388. doi:10.2307/3802594. https://www.jstor.org/stable/3802594.
21. ↑ "Suspected surplus killing of harbor seal pups (Phoca vitulina) by killer whales (Orcinus orca)" (in en). 2015-12-11. https://www.cascadiaresearch.org/publications/suspected-surplus-killing-harbor-seal-pups-phoca-vitulina-killer-whales-orcinus-orca.
22. ↑ Montagnes, David; Fenton, Andy (24 September 2012). "Prey-abundance affects zooplankton assimilation efficiency and the outcome of biogeochemical models". Ecological Modelling 243: 1–7. doi:10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2012.05.006. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304380012002268.
23. ↑ Lounibos, L. P.; Makhni, S.; Alto, B. W.; Kesavaraju, B. (March 2008). "Surplus Killing by Predatory Larvae of Corethrella appendiculata: Prepupal Timing and Site-Specific Attack on Mosquito Prey". Journal of Insect Behavior 21 (2): 47–54. doi:10.1007/s10905-007-9103-2. PMID 19081802. Bibcode: 2008JIBeh..21...47L.
24. ↑ Peacock, Sue (2017-08-10). "Penguins killed in fox attack on Victoria's Middle Island" (in en-AU). https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-08-10/penguins-killed-by-fox-victoria-middle-island/8794828.
25. ↑ Stuart, C. T. (1986). "The incidence of surplus killing by Panthera pardus and Felis caracal in Cape Province, South Africa". Mammalia 50 (4): 556–558. doi:10.1515/mamm.1986.50.4.553. ISSN 0025-1461.
26. ↑ Skinner, J. D. (1979). "Feeding behaviour in Caracal Felis caracal". Journal of Zoology 189 (4): 523–525. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7998.1979.tb03979.x.
27. ↑ "Wyoming wolf pack kills 19 elk in rare 'surplus killing'". http://www.calgarysun.com/2016/03/25/wyoming-wolf-pack-kills-19-elk-in-rare-surplus-killing.
28. ↑ L.P. Lounibos, S. Mahkni, B.W.Alto, B. Kesavaraju (Mar 2008). "Surplus Killing by Predatory Larvae of Corethrella appendiculata: Prepupal Timing and Site-Specific Attack on Mosquito Prey". Journal of Insect Behavior 21 (2): 47–54. doi:10.1007/s10905-007-9103-2. PMID 19081802. Bibcode: 2008JIBeh..21...47L.
29. ↑ Hansen, Kevin (2006). Bobcat: master of survival ([Online-Ausg.] ed.). New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 114. ISBN 0195183037. https://archive.org/details/bobcatmastersurv00hans.

## Bibliography

* Jennifer L. Maupin and Susan Reichert, Superfluous killing in spiders.
* Joseph K. Gaydos, Stephen Raverty, Robin W. Baird, and Richard W. Osborne, SUSPECTED SURPLUS KILLING OF HARBOR SEAL PUPS (PHOCA VITULINA) BY KILLER WHALES (ORCINUS ORCA) .
* William G. George and Timothy Kimmel, A Slaughter of Mice by Common Crows.
* Wildlife Online: Foxes-Surplus Killing, Why do foxes kill to excess....
* For Wolves: Ralph Maughan Wolf Report, Jackson Trio makes some surplus kills .
* High Country News, Zachary Smith, Wolf pack wiped out for ‘surplus killing’ .
* Victor Van Ballenberghe, Technical Information on Wolf Ecology and Wolf/Prey Relationships.
* Pierre-Yves Daoust, Andrew Boyne, Ted D’Eon, Surplus killing of Roseate Terns and Common Terns by a mink.

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