The animal with the lowest preference for mercy?
What animal has the lowest preference for mercy? Does having a second child born as a backup and then killing it later qualify? Then come and talk to Mr. and Mrs. Shoebill.
One of the rare birds that clearly resembles its dinosaur forebears is the shoebill, which is found on the African plains of Amboseli. Just have a look at the photo above.
These big, hefty birds build their nests on the ground and only lay three eggs at a time. By their very nature, they are silent but very heatless birds that have ever existed.
The firstborn chick, which is typically the strongest one, begins to dominate the others soon after the eggs hatch while the parents are away looking for food.
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The oldest egg will push the other eggs or baby away from the nest, pluck at its tender feathers, and refuse to give the other eggs any attention.
The fact that parent shoebills only rear one chick at a time and lay the additional eggs as a backup in case the first one doesn’t survive complicates matters further.
The parents inspect the situation at the nest once they have returned with full tummies and are prepared to feed the birds. Prioritizing the stronger chick, they slaughter the others.
I am aware that this is how nature explains the idea of the strongest surviving, but this is just ruthlessness. The honor goes to Shoebill for developing “back-up” babies.
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