It is worth noting that early reports of human cannibalism are somewhat suspect. During the years of British colonial expansion slavery was actually considered to be illegal, unless the people involved were so depraved that their conditions as slaves would be better than as free men. Demonstration of cannibalistic tendencies were consiered evidence for this, and hence reports of cannibalism became widespread. Other more contemporary reports have also been called into question. The well known case of mortuary cannabilism in New Guinea which resulted in the spread of the disease kuru has also been questioned by those claiming that although post-mortem dismemberment was the practice during funeral rites, cannabilism was not.
For some species, cannibalism under certain well-defined circumstances, such as the female black widow spider eating the male after mating, is a common, if not inveriable, part of the life cycle. In vertebrates (except for many fish), cannibalism is not generaly observed to be uniformly routine or widespread for any given species, but may develop in extremis such as captivity, or a desperate food shortage. For instance, a domestic sow may eat her newborn young, though this behavior has not been observed in the wild. It is also known that mice and rats will eat their young if their nest is repeatedly threatened by predators. In some species adults are known to destroy and sometimes eat young of their species to whom they are not closely related--famously, the chimpanzee?s observed by Dr. [Jane Goodall]?.
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