News for hackers. Stuff that matters.

A comment on The cave divers who went back for their friends. Parent comment

Re:The cave divers who went back for their friends by hobs on Monday May 09, 2016 @09:44AM (#11659753)
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.
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:The cave divers who went back for their friends by superuser2 on Monday May 09, 2016 @10:16AM (#11659986)
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."
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:The cave divers who went back for their friends by jessaustin on Monday May 09, 2016 @11:47AM (#11660688)
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?

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:The cave divers who went back for their friends by peejaybee on Monday May 09, 2016 @11:03AM (#11660316)
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."
[ Parent | on HN ]