Abused baby boobies grow up to abuse other chicks

Chicks abused by older birds are more likely to grow up to become abusers themselves, scientists have found.

Researchers studying a colony of Nazca boobies, a colonial seabird, found the birds perpetuate a "cycle of violence".

Juvenile birds that are maltreated by older, non-relatives grow up to become more violent towards other chicks.

It is the first evidence from a wild animal that, as in humans, "child abuse" can be socially transmitted down the generations.

BBC Nature - Abused baby boobies grow up to abuse other chicks