The narrative of wildlife documentaries often begins with sweeping shots of the African savannah, establishing a familiar, bittersweet cycle of life and death among species.
"I think more and more we are really understanding the extent to which social behavior influences animals' lives," says Adelaide Abraham, a PhD student at the University of Oxford and first author of the study. "It's hugely, hugely important."
The perplexing baby-snatchings, reported in the journal Current Biology, suggest that humans aren't the only intelligent species with youngsters that pursue apparently pointless activities that can be destructive to other creatures.