I’ve seen normal fluffies eating their own a couple times and mares eating their babies isn’t uncommon, but to be a true cannibalfluff does it have to be a genetic trait and/or an inability to eat things that aren’t fluffies? I think @BFM101’s Crimson was a “made” cannibalfluff, but I’m not sure if the trope as we know it was established then.
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Bfm treats it as a gene that makes them crave meat but no special features like wierd eyes or sharp teeth.
Depends on the headcannon
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from what i personally have seen, the traits only appear after the fluffy takes up cannibalism both regularly and willingly. simply being desperate does not a cannibal make
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Speaking from a scientific point of view, the only thing that would make a fluffy a ‘pure’ cannibal, is if it were an obligate carnivore, that is, it can only digest meat and meat protein, ala cats and dogs.
Due to the biochemistry involved, this is a genetic level adaptation, so not really one that a fluffy can ‘grow’ into, unless it can change its phenotype over time, like certain frogs or fish being able to switch genders as population forces require.
Simply craving meat is more a psychological attribute, like a drug addict looking for their next fix, so any fluffy can develop that. There are a number of herds with smarties who regularly eat foals that aren’t his children as a way of eliminating any genetic competition, but don’t become cannibals.
From various stories, the consensus is that the swirly eyes are genetic (fluffies can only be born with it), but the teeth are a mixture of genetic and self inflicted (fluffies deliberately breaking their teeth on hard objects to leave a jagged edge, essentially fashioning psuedo-canine teeth from their molars), much like human teeth filing.
As always, feel free to do what you like with your head canon.
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You can choose either option to best fit your universe, I should know since I chose both.
Crimson was initially made into a cannibal through his psychological torture at the ends of Josef, but I later retconned that when I introduced Scarlett.
Cannibalism was now a genetic trait passed from father to daughter which was unlocked after the first taste of blood. Had either of them gone without that taste, they both would’ve remained regular Fluffies.
Like everything in Fluffies, the lore is flexible enough that you can shape certain elements to better fit your headcanon and they don’t need to be set in stone once you do
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I think it ultimately depends on the individual’s canon and maybe even the situation in that canon.
In my canon for example: predatory cannibal fluffs were created in a laboratory specifically to cull the regular fluffy population, but at the same time a regular fluffy is more than capable of consuming the flesh of another of their kind if they are ultimately desperate enough and on the verge of death from starvation.
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Personally I go with the idea in every case that fluffies are genetically engineered creatures whose brains are more programmed than naturally evolving. My take is that they’re programmed to survive, obviously, but then what happens if there’s no actual food? Hence why they’ll resort to eating garbage, their shit, and even other fluffies in order to stay alive.
Because their brain is shrieking ‘DON’T YOU DARE DIE’ at them 24/7. They basically have no choice but to eat their own kind, no matter how much they hate it, because they’re coded, genetically and functionally, to survive.
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@BrotherOni took what I was thinking and laid it out better than I would ever have. In addition to everything he said I imagine that Fluffies are omnivores with a heavy lean towards consuming vegetation (grass, flowers, fruits, mushroom, etc…). They will eat the occasional insect larva or small lizard when the opportunity arise.
Fluffies switching it’s diet to be nearly all meat and eating other fluffies would be something not normal and wouldn’t happened over a single night.
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@See_through Thank you for the praise. 
I would argue however that fluffies are primarily herbivores but are also opportunistic carnivores.
My basis for this is that there are very few omnivores which eat grass for its nutritional value (I can’t think of any myself), and that fluffy teeth are presumed to be incisors and molars only, which suggest a specialised herbivore diet.
The incisors are for the cutting of food stuffs (leaves, grass, etc) with the large flat molars to grind the grass into something digestible.
That said, I agree that there is some evidence for fluffies being omnivorous; pretty much all nursing fluffies are well aware that a high fat and high protein diet generates better quality miwkies for foals, hence why starvation induced cannibalism of foals is so commonplace for surviving another day or two for the remaining foals.
In domestics, this normally surfaces as a demand for skettis over normal kibble as the mare’s own body is prioritising milk production over the mare’s health, thus stripping fat and proteins out of her body which isn’t being replaced fast enough by standard kibble diet.
If fluffies were primarily herbivores, then this preference by nursing mares would stretch plausibility - why voluntarily switch to an uncommon diet during nursing, a very common stage in fluffy mares’ lives? if they were omnivores, it would make better sense - they’re aware of the benefits and are willing to switch as their physiological demands require.
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@BrotherOni
Shit, forgot about opportunistic carnivore. Like the term was swimming in my head, but couldn’t find a place to place in my previous post.
Well the reason I went towards them being more omnivores was thinking of them having bear/pig dietary list and the fact Hasbio probably made them be able to process and digest numerous food items since they’re selling these creature to children.
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Shit, forgot about opportunistic carnivore. Like the term was swimming in my head, but couldn’t find a place to place in my previous post.
I had the opportunity to stay on a working farm once. Once you see ‘a harmless herbivore’ chase down and eat baby chicks, you never forget the term (or the way those little yellow protein snacks go crunch if they’re unlucky to be caught in the teeth while being nommed).
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I have seen pics of deer eating birds.
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Either way, whatever makes sense for your story. Everyone kind of has their own head canon on real specific stuff like this.
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Exactly
If you are planning on creating a story/image with cannibal fluffs, read some of the* existing ones and get some inspiration
But you don’t need to stick to a one and only strict cannon, you are free to decide what headcannon to adopt, or create your own
it’s the prion disease what does it