Wildlife
Scavengers are those carnivorous animals that eat carrion (already dead animals) rather than hunting fresh meat for themselves. Some scavengers, such as African vultures, rely wholly on what they can get this way. Others, such as lions or wolves, are opportunistic scavengers and while they won't pass up a free meal, prefer to hunt their own prey. It's a surprise to many that even some herbivorous species, such as hippos and pandas, are known to scavenge carrion now and then.
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Desert ants
Australia's deserts are populated by meat ants and bulldog ants.
Every morning in the Australian desert, meat ants head out to find last night's fatalities. After butchering the remains of a grasshopper, they will carry the body parts back to their bunker. Meat ants outnumber all other animals at floor level, and all other invertebrates are dead meat. By taking the body parts below ground, the ants give the mulga trees the nutrition they need to grow in the desert. There are over 1000 species of ant in Australia but bulldog ants are the fiercest. Each one is 4 centimetres of pure aggression, but they are not just out for themselves. Hunters from the colony will bring back insects and even small reptiles to feel the underground colony. They dig shafts that go 2 metres underground where the queen and her larvae live in the coolest and best protected chambers. Here, the queen produces a constant supply of larvae.
Turtle soup
Tiger sharks return to the reef at the same time every year to feast on turtles.
Migrating over 800km, tiger sharks reach Raine Island on the Great Barrier Reef at exactly the same time every year. Their migration is timed to perfection in order to feast on the glut of 26,000 nesting green sea turtles that come here to lay their eggs. Unofficially known as the dustbins of the sea, tiger sharks do not have to waste time hunting live turtles. Instead, they are able to feast on those turtles that die in their attempts to reproduce.
Winter scavengers
The winter months can be hard for the wildlife of the Scottish glens.
The success of the golden eagle is due in part to the unnaturally high stocks of red deer and sheep in the highlands of Scotland, as well as the inevitable casualties of winter. Scavenging keeps these majestic birds alive during the harsh winter months when other prey can be scarce.
Kite country
Sleek and elegant scavengers of the Welsh valleys.
The welsh valleys ring out with the distinctive calls of the red kite. Once persecuted by gamekeepers and farmers, red kites are now thriving across large parts of the country. Scavengers by nature, they scour the hills for wildlife and livestock casualties. Today's more tolerant attitude towards birds of prey - and in particular feeding them in winter - has helped save these birds from extinction.
Landfill life
Rubbish tips are an attractive resource for winter scavengers.
Rubbish tips are an attractive resource for winter scavengers.
Long-eared hedgehog
Tasmanian devil
Tiger quoll
Andrewsarchus
Arctic fox
Coyote
Dire wolf
Grey wolf
Lion
Maned wolf
Pine marten
Smilodon
South American grey fox
Spotted hyena
Wolverine
Entelodonts
Hippopotamus
Brown rat
American black vulture
Andean condor
Common buzzard
Golden eagle
Lammergeier
Marsh harrier
Red kite
Ruppell's vulture
Carrion crow
Hooded crow
Magpie
Raven
Rook
Great black-backed gull
Herring gull
Lesser black-backed gull
South polar skua
Fulmar
Crocodiles
Nile crocodile
Siamese crocodile
Spectacled caiman
Abelisaurs
Allosaurus
Australovenator
Carcharodontosaurids
Carcharodontosaurus
Coelophysis
Dromaeosaurs
Majungasaurus
Mapusaurus
Spinosaurus 
Tarbosaurus
Tyrannosaurs
Tyrannosaurus rex
Utahraptor
Velociraptors
Komodo dragon
Sand goanna
Water monitor
Yellow anaconda
Giant river turtleScavenging is both a carnivorous and herbivorous feeding behavior in which the scavenger feeds on dead animal and plant material present in its habitat. The eating of carrion from the same species is referred to as cannibalism. Scavengers play an important role in the ecosystem by consuming the dead animal and plant material. Decomposers and detritivores complete this process, by consuming the remains left by scavengers.
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