Research: All-Corn Diet Turning Hamsters Into Aggressive Cannibals

February 12, 2017 5:00 am
Wild Hamsters Turning Into Cannibals
(DeAgostini/Getty Images)
Wild Hamsters Turning Into Cannibals
(DeAgostini/Getty Images)

 

Researchers in northeastern France have gotten a rude awakening when it comes to the wild hamsters they’ve been tracking. The results of a recent study published in the scientific journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B show that the hamsters have been forced to feed on industrially grown maize (i.e. corn) after years of a much less monotonous diet that included a range of nutrients. Some of the hamsters have grown bored with their meals to the point that they’re starving.

But even worse is what the diet is apparently making some hamsters do to their own. According to scientists, some mothers will feast on their newborn pups, storing them with the piles of corn before cannibalizing them. The cannibal hamster mothers also showed signs of aggressive behavior, swollen/black tongues, and thickening of blood.

For more on the cannibal hamsters, click here. Read the full study here.

—RealClearLife Staff

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