Physical injuries in wild animals

Physical injuries in wild animals

This text is part of a series examining the conditions of animals living in the wild. For more texts examining the ways animals in the wild suffer and die, see our main page on the situation of animals in the wild. For information on how we can help injured animals, see our page on rescuing trapped and injure­d animals.

Physical injuries are one of the most common threats to animals living in the wild. In some cases, animals incur severe injuries that kill them directly. In other cases, their injuries can affect them in ways that are indirectly fatal, for example, by reducing their ability to find food or to evade predators. Even when animals aren’t killed by their injuries, they can be left with chronic pain, especially when their injuries don’t heal properly.

Animals living in the wild can be injured in many different ways. Broadly speaking, we can group them into three categories: conflict with other animals, accidental injuries, and injuries caused by severe weather and natural disasters.

Conflicts with other animals can be with animals of other species (predation for example), or they can be with animals of their own species, such as conflicts over territory or mates, or sexual coercion. Other injuries are caused by accidents or extreme weather conditions. For example, baby birds are sometimes injured after falling from their nests, and forest fires can leave animals with burns. Invertebrates get appendages stuck and lose body parts in molting mishaps.

Injuries caused by conflict with other animals

Predation

Many attacks by predators do not succeed. Often, animals manage to escape a pursuer even when initially captured, but terrible injuries may result. For example, hedgehogs are often left with missing or damaged legs after being attacked by foxes.

The footage below shows a hedgehog who is missing her left hind leg, likely as a result of a fox attack. Notice the difficulty with which she walks. Her injury is very likely to reduce her capacity to find food and to evade predators, in addition to the physical pain it must cause her.

This young seal escaped from a shark who was attacking him, but he was left with severe injuries to his flank.

Amphibians such as frogs are often found with deformities such as missing or only partially grown legs. These deformities are caused by selective predation by Dragonfly nymphs on tadpoles.1 Dragonfly nymphs rarely eat a tadpole entirely; rather, they grab tadpoles and find tender parts to eat, usually the hind leg bud. Depending on the stage of development that a tadpole is in when she is attacked, she may completely regenerate the missing limb. Otherwise, the limb may be completely missing, or it may partially develop. The mature frog must then try to survive with a partial or missing leg, or, sometimes, missing eyes. This attack in her tadpole stage thus makes it harder for her to find food and evade predators in her later life.

Intraspecific conflict: Fighting for territory and mates

Physical trauma can also be the result of conflict between members of the same species. For example, animals chase and fight each other to defend their territory, to establish a new social or mating hierarchy, or to protect their young. Competition for food, water, shelter, and other basic needs may also lead to aggressive behavior and injury.

The video below shows a lone lioness injured after a fight with a group of adolescent males. The fight may have been over territory, an animal carcass, or an attempt at forced copulation. She has a broken tail, an open wound on her left hind leg and she is limping badly. She is unlikely to survive on her own, and she follows the group that injured her in the hope that they will share food with her.

Grey Seals are territorial during mating season. This young seal was found with serious injuries to her face, neck, and eye. Her wounds were most likely caused by another seal. Male elephant seals use their massive body weight and sharp canines against each other when battling for control of a beach and thus control of a harem of females. Though these fights are rarely fatal, they can result in severe tears and cuts to both parties. For example, see:

Accidents

Animals living in the wild are subject to injuries in their everyday lives. Many accidents result from falls, collapsed dens or burrows,2 collisions, or getting stuck. Birds crash into trees, elephants get stuck in swamps, deers puncture their eyes on low-hanging branches, and squirrels fall out of trees. Animals also injure each when they are play-fighting.

Crushing injuries

Many animals sustain crushing injuries caused by accidental trauma. Crushing most often occurs when an animal becomes caught between the ground and a solid object, often a rock or a larger animal. The type and degree of crushing injury depends on the amount of force, resulting in a range of injuries from minor bruising to severe hemorrhaging, fractures, and rupture of internal organs. For example, rocks or tree branches can fall on an animal. Some animals accidentally step on smaller animals. Male penguins can accidentally crush a pup while they are displaying, which can cause internal injuries to the pup. Walruses are easily startled. The approach of a predator or the noise of a passing boat or plane can cause walruses to panic and stampede towards the water. These stampedes are extremely dangerous for calves who may be injured or crushed to death.3

Fractures

Vertebrates can suffer from a variety of fractures to bones in the spine, head and neck, as well as limbs, jaws, wings, shell, or horns.

Bone fractures in spine, limbs and wings are common and can be fatal.4 Many of us are familiar with horses who can’t survive a broken limb. This because of the way their very light legs bend and shatter, the thin and easily penetrated skin around the bone, and how easily the blood supply is cut off by damaged arteries. They are also susceptible to pneumonia if they lie down for an extended period of time.5

Walruses have been documented falling from cliffs, often in large numbers. Walruses in one wildlife refuge in Alaska have been seen falling off the same cliff since 1996.6 These falls result in death or severe injury. It isn’t entirely clear what is responsible for these accidents. Walruses often haul out onto land to rest, and sometimes when the beaches are too crowded they will climb up gentle slopes with cliffs on the other side. Once there, they can be spooked by polar bears, or they can simply lose their footing when returning to the sea.7 The video below shows large numbers of walruses falling to their deaths. There are two to three hundred dead on one short stretch of beach. Notice the close up of a walrus who has survived the fall. Still breathing, but unable to move, she must have suffered greatly before her death.

Birds have legs that are easily broken because they are small and their bones are often hollow. They may also be fragile due to malnutrition or excessive egg laying. Common causes of broken legs are falls, fights, accidental collisions with other animals, or being accidentally stepped on by a larger animal. Broken bones in the limbs or wings of flying birds and penguins are serious and often fatal.8 The thinness of flying birds’ bones helps them in flight, but makes their bones more prone to shatter or fragment.9

Injuries to the bones around the eye (orbital fractures) occur when there is a direct blow to the face, by a falling rock, from running into a tree or wall, from a fall, or from a kick by another animal. This can cause the eye to hemorrhage, and lead to infection later on.10

Tortoises and turtles can suffer from shell fractures from falls, objects impacts, or being trampled on by other animals. Large fractures can be quite serious. A turtle’s shell serves as a sort of backbone, and a turtle can be paralyzed or their lungs can collapse depending on where the crack is. If the fracture is deep, there can be blood loss. There are nerve ending in and around the shell, so a break can be painful in the way any broken bone can cause pain. Shell rot can set in due to a fungal or bacterial infection under the crack. Aquatic animals are particularly susceptible to shell rot.

Horns are also made of bone and can bleed. If torn away near their base, skin will be torn as well.11

Beaks can break from collisions or fights. A bird can also break her beak if she gets it stuck in something. If she panics and rips herself free, she can break her beak off. Beaks are made of skin covered in keratin (the same material as our fingernails). Beaks are attached to bones, and the beak tip has a concentration of nerves and blood vessels. Birds use their beaks not only as mouths but also in the way we use our hands to pick things up. If a bird’s beak is injured, she may be unable to eat, drink, build a nest, or protect herself. Certain breaks cause bleeding, and in some cases, a bird can bleed to death from a broken beak. Injured beaks can also lead to breathing or sinus problems.12 Beaks don’t repair themselves, but the injured part can grow out. The tip continually grows because it is constantly wearing out due to use, but injuries far from the tip can be permanently disfiguring. An injured bird might only be able to eat soft food, which could make it hard to survive in the wild.

Wing tears

Bat and insect wings can tear from collisions with objects, plants, thorns, or from fungal infections. Tears in bat wings are serious injuries and can lead to blood loss.13 Tears can heal on their own, but torn wings affect flight capability, sometimes preventing flying altogether. The animals also requires rest and extra energy to heal, and while they are healing, they are more vulnerable to starvation, predation, and other threats.

Eye injuries

Animals in nature can sustain eye injuries due to foreign objects, punctures, or smoke. A common way an animal can receive an eye injury is from running into branches. Because many animals, such as deers and antelopes, escape from predators and other threats by running into the woods, many run into low-hanging branches. While this usually only affects one eye, any permanent damage or vision loss can make an animal more prone to other accidents and predation in the future.

Flying animals are at an advantage because there are fewer things to run into. However, birds can injure their eyes falling out of trees at an early age, or run into branches when taking off. They can also be injured by talons in fights with other birds. Eye injuries that don’t heal inhibit a bird’s ability to fly.

Eyelid injuries, such as rips or punctures, often happen due to falls or running into something. The eyelid is a fragile part of an animal’s body. It can easily be damaged, and if not healed properly, it can lead to vision loss or infection. Getting sand, glass, or other foreign objects stuck in the eye can be very painful for many animals, who might further injure themselves trying to get them out.14

Self-amputation

Appendages like limbs, wings, and antennae can be lost directly in accidents or fights, but many animals lose appendages by autotomy, or self-amputation. Octopuses amputate their own arms, lizards their tails, and spiders their legs. They do this when they are in danger, usually from getting their appendages trapped or stuck in fights with other animals, to prevent venom from a sting from spreading throughout their body, or in molting mishaps. When it is not to escape from a dangerous situation, self-amputation may be a response to pain resulting from an injury or an attempt to remove a useless body part.15

The degree to which a lost appendage affects an animal depends on the type of appendage, the function of the appendage, and the environment. Some animals, like octopuses and spiders, often manage well while missing an arm or a leg.16

Many invertebrates, especially juvenile ones, can regenerate limbs, antennae, and other body parts through molting. The severity and duration of an injury depends on how old they are, the frequency and length of time molting takes, and the part of the body that’s injured.17 A crayfish who only molts once a year can manage without a leg, but losing a claw or an antenna could seriously impair their ability to survive fights with other animals or explore their environment and seek shelter.18 An unhealed limb can be particularly harmful to jumping insects like crickets.19

It’s not always possible to fully regenerate injured or amputated body parts. The replacement part is not always the same in terms of structure and function. Some injuries don’t heal due to their severity or the age of the animal.20

Some vertebrates have some regenerative capacity, such as lizards who regenerate tails, fishes who regrow fins,21 and salamanders who can regrow limbs.22 Bats can regenerate wings and ears and ungulates their antlers.23 However, the regrown parts may be smaller or weaker, and if the animal is under too much physical stress, they might not be able to regenerate the part at all.

Molting

Molting is a common cause of injury in arthropods. Even when they aren’t injured, arthropods need to molt – shed their exoskeletons – in order to grow, and then their new exoskeletons need time to be hardened or reconstructed, together with other body parts such as the linings of organs.

Although arthropods are vulnerable to external injuries during molting and while their new exoskeletons are still soft, they are more likely to die or be injured because of a fault in the complex molting process.24 They might also fail to regenerate an injured body part, or, if the injury happens after a certain critical period, be unable to regenerate it during the next molt,25 leaving them with reduced functioning until the following molt, which might be months, or in some cases, years. This is worse for older animals, who tend to molt less frequently as they age.

Some larvae cannot breathe while their exoskeletons are coming off and can asphyxiate if it takes too long or something else goes wrong. Mayfly larvae must take in extra oxygen before they molt because they leave their tracheal lining behind and stop breathing during the molting process.26 In other species, just getting out of their exoskeletons can take months, and if they get stuck, they can be crushed to death as they keep growing.27

Molting arthropods can also tear off a sensitive part as they extract themselves, losing or twisting their limbs, crushing their lungs, or injuring an eye or other soft tissue. Injuries are more likely to occur if an animal experiences abnormal shedding of the exoskeleton, a condition called dysecdysis, which can be caused by stress. Some injuries cause life-threatening hemorrhages.28 Animals are more susceptible to attacks from predators or conspecifics while they are molting. For example, prawns are more likely to be injured or killed by other prawns during certain stages of molting.29

Injuries due to weather conditions and natural disasters

Animals living in the wild have to face extreme weather conditions. These conditions often cause injuries that can be very painful, debilitating, or deadly.

Storms are hazardous for animals who are unable to seek shelter. Sea animals can be thrown against rocks during storms. Water birds are pelted by large balls of ice during hailstorms. This can cause internal organ damage, broken wings and limbs, and eye injuries. Water birds are especially at risk.30

Overexposure can cause sunburn, the severity of which can range from minor burns to complete destruction of the skin and underlying tissues. The most severe wounds can be fatal. Animals such as hippos, elephants, and pigs have sensitive skin. In order to prevent sunburn, they coat their skin with mud. When mud isn’t readily available, during droughts for example, this isn’t an option and they can suffer from severe sunburn. A drought in Lamu in northern Kenya in 2017 led to hippos and other animals getting stuck in dried out mud ponds. Unable to coat their skin in a protective layer of wet mud, many of them suffered from severe sunburn.31

Cold weather can also cause injuries to animals living in the wild. In severe cold, animals can suffer from frostbite. This stray cat lost parts of his ears and nose after being stuck outside in severe cold weather. Birds can lose their legs when they become stuck to frozen railings.

Long-term effects of injuries in the wild

When an animal becomes injured but does not die, she may suffer in many ways. First, there is the pain caused by her wounds. Pain can also lead to behaviors that are dangerous to the animal, such as causing her to decrease her intake of food and water, leading to weight loss, muscle breakdown, and impaired breathing.32 Second, an injured animal is likely to suffer from a range of other problems due to infections and related diseases. In the absence of medical treatment, wounds are likely to become infected. Damaged tissues tend to become infested by parasites (known as myiasis).33 Parasitic infestation may be extremely painful and may cause additional complications such as diarrhea, vomiting, and visual disturbance.

Finally, the disabling effects of the injury – exacerbated by infection or parasite infestation – jeopardize the animal’s wellbeing in many ways. Most notably, the animal may not be able to escape from threatening situations or to keep up with their social group. They may also be unable to eat or drink adequately to promote healing or even to stay alive. Injured animals also become preferential targets for both predators and competitive members of their own species.34

Animals living in the wild are vulnerable to a vast array of horrific physical injuries. The causes of these injuries are many and varied, ranging from the gashes and bites of other animals; fire, frost, and torrential rains; falls and collisions; and self-amputation and molting accidents.

For information about the ways we can help animals in the wild suffering from injuries, see Rescuing trapped and injured animals.


Further readings

Blair, J.; Wassersug, R. J. & Ross, S. T. (2000) “Variation in the pattern of predatord induced damage to tadpole tails”, Copeia, 2000, pp. 390-401.

Clutton-Brock, T. H. & Parker, G. A. (1995) “Sexual coercion in animal societies”, Animal Behaviour, 49, pp. 1345-1365.

Coderre, T. J.; Grimes, R. W. & Melzack, R. (1986) “Deafferentation and chronic pain in animais: An evaluation of evidence suggesting autotomy is related to pain”, Pain, 26, pp. 61-84.

Cooper J. E. (1996) “Physical Injury”, in Fairbrother A.; Locke L. N. & Hoff G. L. (eds) Noninfectious disease of wildlife, 2nd ed., Ames: Iowa State University Press, pp. 157-172.

Delahay, R. J.; Smith, G. C. & Hutchings, M. R. (2008) Management of disease in wild mammals, New York: Springer.

Emlen, S. T. & Wrege, P. H. (1986) “Forced copulations and intra-specific parasitism: Two costs of social living in the white-fronted bee-eater”, Ethology, 71, pp. 2-29.

Figiel, C. R., Jr. & Semlitsch, R. D. (1991) “Effects of nonlethal injury and habitat complexity on predation in tadpole populations”, Canadian Journal of Zoology, 69, pp. 830-834.

Harris, R. N. (1989) “Nonlethal injury to organisms as a mechanism of population regulation”, The American Naturalist, 134, pp. 835-847.

Heithaus, M.; Frid, A. & Dill, L. (2002) “Shark-inflicted injury frequencies, escape ability, and habitat use of green and loggerhead turtles”, Marine Biology, 140, pp. 229-236.

Jonhson, Pieter T. J.; Preu, E. R.; Sutherland, D. R.; Romansic, J. M.; Han, B. & Blaustein, A. R. (2006) “Adding infection to injury: synergistic effects of predation and parasitism on amphibian malformations”, Ecology, 87, pp. 2227-2235.

Olsson, M. (1995) “Forced copulation and costly female resistance behavior in the Lake Eyre Dragon, Ctenophorus maculosus”, Herpetologica, 51, pp. 19-24.

Reimchen, T. E. (1988) “Inefficient predators and prey injuries in a population of giant stickleback”, Canadian Journal of Zoology, 66, pp. 2036-2044.

Reimchen, T. E. (1992) “Injuries on stickleback from attacks by a toothed predator (Oncorhynchus) and implications for the evolution of lateral plates”, Evolution, 46, pp. 1224-1230.

Schoener, T. W. (1979) “Inferring the properties of predation and other injury-producing agents from injury frequencies”, Ecology, 60, pp. 1110-1115.

Smuts, B. B. & Smuts, R. W. (1993) “Male aggression and sexual coercion of females in nonhuman primates and other mammals: Evidence and theoretical implications”, Advances in the Study of Behavior, 22, pp. 1-63.


Notes

1 Ballengee, B. & Sessions, S. K. (2009) “Explanation for missing limbs in deformed amphibians”, Journal of Experimental Biology Part B: Molecular & Developmental Evolution, 312B, pp. 770-779.

2 Homer, B. L; Berry, K. H.; Brown, M. B.; Ellis, G.; Jacobson, E. R. (1998) “Pathology of diseases in wild desert tortoises from California”, Journal of Wildlife Diseases, 34, pp. 508-523 [accessed on 29 August 2019].

3 Minerals Management Service & Alaska OCS Region (2008) “Beaufort Sea and Chukchi Sea planning areas: Oil and gas lease sales 209, 212, 217, and 221”, vol. 2, Washington, D. C.: U. S. Department of the Interior, ch. 4.4 [accessed 24 August 2019]; Goldberg, S. (2014) “US reroutes flights around Alaska beach in attempt to avoid walrus stampede”, The Guardian, Thu 2 Oct [accessed on 3 September 2019].

4 Bulstrode, C.; King, J. & Roper, B. (1986) “What happens to wild animals with broken bones?”, The Lancet, 327, pp. 29-31.

5 Cook, C. (2011) “Why does a broken leg mean the end for a horse?”, The Guardian, 23 Sep [accessed on 29 August 2019].

6 Badger, T. A. (1996) “Biologists puzzled by walruses’ deadly falls from Alaska cliffs”, The Washington Post, August 31 [accessed on 5 August 2019].

7 Letzer, R. (2019) “Is climate change really causing walruses to jump off cliffs?”, LiveScience, April 13 [accessed on 8 September 2019].

8 Penguin Rescue (2019) “Penguin rescue rehabilitation”, Rehabilitation, Penguin Rescue [accessed on 7 August 2019].

9 Bennett, R. A. & Kuzma, A. B. (1992) “Fracture management in birds”, Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine, 23, pp. 5-38 [accessed on 4 August 2019].

10 Gelatt, K. N. (2021) “Eye emergencies”, Merck Manual: Veterinary Manual, Jan [accessed on 27 February 2021].

11 Morris, P. J.; Bicknese, B. & Sutherland-Smith, M. (2008) “Repair of horn and frontal bone avulsion in a forest buffalo (Syncerus caffer nanus) with a polymethylmethacrylate dressing,” Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine, 39, pp. 99-102.

12 Harvey, P. (2010) “Avian casualties: Wildlife triage”, Vet Times, September 20 [accessed on 7 September 2019].

13 Khayat, R. O. S.; Shaw, K. J.; Dougill, G.; Melling, L. M.; Ferris, G. R.; Cooper, G. & Grant, R. A. (2019) “Characterizing wing tears in common pipistrelles (Pipistrellus pipistrellus): Investigating tear distribution, wing strength, and possible causes”, Journal of Mammalogy, 100, pp. 1282-1294 [accessed on 3 September 2019].

14 Kirby, R.; Gelatt, K. N. & Wilkins, P. A. (2019) “Eye Emergencies”, op. cit. Richter, V. & Freegard, C. (2009) Standard operating procedure first aid for animals, Canberra: Department of Environment and Conservation [accessed on 29 August 2019].

15 Emberts, Z.; Miller, C. W.; Kiehl, D.; St. Marya, C. M. (2017) “Cut your losses: Self-amputation of injured limbs increases survival”, Behavioral Ecology, 28, pp. 1047-1054 [accessed on 5 October 2019]. Kachramanoglou, C.; Carlstedt, T.; Koltzenburg, M. & Choi, D. (2011) “Self-mutilation in patients after nerve injury may not be due to deafferentation pain: A case report”, Pain Medicine, 12, pp. 1644-1648 [accessed on 7 September 2019].

16 Alupay, J. S. (2013) “Characterization of arm autotomy in the octopus, Abdopus aculeatus (d’Orbigny, 1834)”, PhD thesis, Berkeley: University of California [accessed on 7 September 2019].

17 Mykles, D. L. (2001) “Interactions between limb regeneration and molting in decapod crustaceans”, Integrative and Comparative Biology, 41, pp. 399-406 [accessed on 3 July 2019]. O’Neill, M.; DeLandro, D. & Taylor, D. (2019) “Age-related responses to injury and repair in insect cuticle”, Journal of Experimental Biology, 222 [accessed on 24 October 2019].

18 Koch, L. M.; Patullo, B. W.; Macmillan, D. L. (2006) “Exploring with damaged antennae: Do crayfish compensate for injuries?Journal of Experimental Biology, 209, pp. 3226-3233 [accessed on 30 August 2019].

19 Parle, E.; Dirks, J.-H. & Taylor, D. (2016) “Bridging the gap: wound healing in insects restores mechanical strength by targeted cuticle deposition”, Journal of the Royal Society, 13 (117) [accessed on 29 August 2019].

20 O’Neill, M.; DeLandro, D.; Taylor, D. 2019 “Age-related responses to injury and repair in insect cuticle”, Journal of Experimental Biology, 222 [accessed on 24 October 2019]. Parle, E; Dirksb, J.-H. & Taylor, D (2017) “Damage, repair and regeneration in insect cuticle: The story so far, and possibilities for the future”, Arthropod Structure and Development, 46, pp. 49-55.

21 Darnet, S.; Dragalzew, A. C.; Amaral, D. B.; Sousa, J. F.; Thompson, A. W.; Cass, A. N.; Lorena, J.; Pires, E. S.; Costa, C. M.; Sousa, M. P.; Fröbisch, N. B.; Oliveira, G.; Schneider, P. N.; Davis, M. C.; Braasch, I. & Schneider, I. (2019) “Deep evolutionary origin of limb and fin regeneration”, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 116, pp. 15106-15115 [accessed on 30 June 2019].

22 Brockes, J. P. (1997) “Amphibian limb regeneration: Rebuilding a complex structure”, Science, 276, pp. 81-87.

23 Goss, R. J. (1987) “Why mammals don’t regenerate—or do they?”, Physiology, 2, pp. 112-115.

24 Maginnis,Tara Lynne (2006) “The costs of autotomy and regeneration in animals: A review and framework for future research”, Behavioral Ecology, 17, pp. 857-872 [accessed on 31 August 2019]. Mykles, D. L. (2001) “Interactions between limb regeneration and molting in decapod crustaceans”, Integrative and Comparative Biology, 41, pp. 399-406 [accessed on 4 July 2019]. Tower, W. L. “Observations on the changes in the hypodermis and cuticula of coleoptera during ecdysis”, Biological Bulletin, 10, pp. 176-192.

25 Mykles, D. L. (2001) “Interactions between limb regeneration and molting in decapod crustaceans”, Integrative and Comparative Biology, 41, pp. 399-406 [accessed on 13 March 2019].

26 Camp, A. A.; Funk, D. H. & Buchwalter, D. B. (2014) “A stressful shortness of breath: Molting disrupts breathing in the mayfly Cloeon dipterum”, Freshwater Science, 33, pp. 695-699.

27 University of California Museum of Paleontology (2005) “The dangers of molting!”, Understanding Evolution [accessed on 4 October 2019].

28 Pellett, S. & O’Brien, M. (2019) “Exoskeleton repair in invertebrates”, Veterinary Clinics of North America: Exotic Animal Practice, 22, pp. 315-330.

29 Ibid. Peebles, B. (1978) “Molting and mortality in Macrobrachium rosenbergii”, Proceedings of the Annual Meeting – World Mariculture Society, 9, pp. 39-46.

30 Jones, J. (2015) “Hundreds of flamingos battered to death during giant hailstone storm”, The Local, 3 September [accessed on 14 February 2019]. SAPeople (2019) “Falcon tragedy: Hundreds of birds die as massive hail storm hits Newcastle overnight”, SA People News, Mar 22 [accessed on 24 August 2019].

31 Karasin, E. (2016) “Hippos dying from SUNBURN amid Kenyan drought: Extreme heat has dried up mud baths the animals use to protect their skin”, MailOnline, 16 March [accessed on 13 December 2019].

32 Ibid. Northern Ireland. Executive Information Service (2015) “Welfare of dogs: Potection from pain and illness”, nidirect [accessed on 3 March 2019].

33 Pellett, S. & O’Brien, M. (2019) “Exoskeleton repair in invertebrates”, op. cit. Francesconi, F. & Lupi, O. (2012) “Myiasis”, Clinical Microbiology Reviews, 25, pp. 79-105 [accessed on 14 August 2019].

34 Pellett, S. & O’Brien, M. (2019) “Exoskeleton repair in invertebrates”, op. cit. Curio, E. (1976) The ethology of predation, Berlin: Springer. Martín, J.; de Neve, L.; Polo, V. & Fargallo, J. A. (2006) “Health-dependent vulnerability to predation affects escape responses of unguarded chinstrap penguin chicks”, Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 60, pp. 778-784. Penteriani, V.; Delgado, M. M.; Bartolommei, P.; Maggio C.; Alonso-Álvarez, C. & Holloway, J. (2008) “Owls and rabbits: Predation against substandard individuals of an easy prey”, Journal of Avian Biology, 39, pp. 215-221. Miller, M. W.; Swanson, H. M.; Wolfe, L. L.; Quartarone F. G.; Huwer, S. L.; Southwick, C. H. & Lukacs, P. M. (2008) “Lions and prions and deer demise”, PLOS ONE, 3 (12) [accessed on 13 February 2013].