5 ms·

I don't believe that it is a matter of being "super tasty", but rather, one of not wanting to inform predators of an easy to access food supply.

• jschwartzi 10y ago
  This sounds a lot like why horse mares will eat the placenta from their foals after giving birth. Foals are born able to run, but they're nowhere near as strong as a mature horse.
  • hobs 10y ago
    I was under the impression they ate it because of all the vital nutrients that the placenta had, but I dont think anyone had conclusive evidence except in an evolutionary biology hand-wavy way.
    • superuser2 10y ago
      If that were the case we should expect health problems from horses that go too long between pregnancies, yes? Otherwise the nutrients are not "vital."
      • peejaybee 10y ago
        I dunno, if you have been gestating a foal, you might be a little undernourished at the end of the process, so a placenta's worth of nutrients might then be "vital."
      • jessaustin 10y ago
        Whence do you suppose the nutrients in a placenta originate? Actually everything in this thread is a just-so story. It's pretty silly to pick out one specific rare behavior as even relevant to evolutionary fitness. How would any of this be tested?