So much so that northern European cultures developed extensive mythologies around ravens as symbols of death. Unlike vultures, ravens have a broad diet and aren’t limited to carrion, but they’re definitely drawn to it. In fact, there aren’t very many places where you’ll find both ravens and vultures living together. Ravens (and crows) often occupy the same ecological niche as vultures. Even those delicious Alaskan king crabs are examples of scavengers. Crabs living in shallow water and along the beach will clean up the carcass of anything that dies there.Īnd yes, this includes all crabs. The deep ocean floor is covered with crabs that clean up the detritus which sinks down to the bottom. Virtually all crabs are scavengers, even if some species eat other foods as well. Locals know that piranha are actually delicious, and because of their voracious appetites, they can be caught quite easily as long as you got some fish to bait your hook with. Much like sharks, piranha can go into a feeding frenzy when a large carcass is available. They’ll happily scavenge the bodies of dead animals that fall in the water with them. They rarely attack living animals, especially animals that are bigger than they are. They only eat dead flesh, not living flesh, so they can be very effective in cleaning up a wound and speeding the healing process. In fact, their larvae have been used to clean wounds in living humans and animals with shocking success. Their maggots are often responsible for removing carrion before it can spread disease throughout an environment. This makes them one of the most important examples of scavengers in the world. You may also like: 8 Animals With Long Arms (Pictures) In fact, when carrion or dung is infested with maggots, almost all of the maggots are usually blowfly larvae. That’s because their larvae, or maggots, are the maggots that are most commonly found in meat and animal carcasses. Bottle fliesĪlso called blow flies, these are the most infamous flies in the world. In effect, for these jackals, it’s probably more efficient to scavenge meat than it is to hunt for themselves. Like coyotes, they’re the top predator in some places, while in others they survive mainly by scavenging from other predators.Īfrican jackals typically scavenge more than other jackals, because they’re surrounded by lions, leopards, cheetahs, and hyenas. They’re similar in pretty much every way, mid-sized canines that live in packs and are highly opportunistic eaters. Jackals are the African and Eurasian answer to the coyote. They rarely hunt for their own food and most of the meat they eat is scavenged. These hyenas are smaller and rarer, and they’re truly scavengers. The striped hyena, though, is a different story. Ironically, while people assume that hyenas always try to steal food from lions, it’s really lions that are far more likely to scavenge food killed by spotted hyenas. Spotted hyenas rarely scavenge their food, and in fact they kill most of their own food. ![]() The spotted hyena is the most famous hyena species, and most people assume that it’s a scavenger. They’ll also happily raid your trash if they get they chance. Still, they’re opportunists who never turn down a free meal.Ĭoyotes are infamous for killing pets, but they can also be spotted hanging around wolf kills, waiting for their chance to steal a meal. Like most scavengers, they aren’t only scavengers, they hunt for their own food as well. CoyoteĬoyotes, which live throughout all of North America, are some of the continent’s most important scavengers. Hardly any nature show set in Africa is complete without shots of crowds of vultures gathering around a lion kill. Vultures live all over the world but African vultures may be the most famous. ![]() They have unique, hardened, barbed tongues that allow them to pick bones clean, and they have remarkably strong stomach acid that kills bacteria and parasites. They’re some of the only animals in the world that are eat carrion exclusively, and they have impressive adaptations to make that possible. Vultures are infamous for being scavengers, and the reason they are first on a list of examples of scavengers. In fact, almost all predators are also scavengers, since it’s always easier to eat an animal that’s already dead than it is to try and kill one yourself. Other species are opportunists who scavenge when they have the chance. Some species are only scavengers, meaning they don’t kill their own food. In this article we’re going to give you 17 examples of scavengers along with some pictures and interesting facts about each one.Ī scavenger is any animal that eats meat or plants that are already dead. They also help to recycle nutrients and keep the environment healthy. They’re the world’s cleanup crew, removing rotting animals and plants and preventing them from spreading disease. Scavengers serve one of the most important functions in nature.
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