Scavenger
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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Scavenging, or necrophagy, is a carnivorous feeding behaviour in which a predator consumes corpses or carrion that were not killed to be eaten by the predator or others of its species. Scavengers play an important role in the ecosystem by contributing to the decomposition of dead animal remains. Decomposers complete this process, by consuming the remains left by scavengers.
Well known scavengers include vultures, burying beetles, blowflies, yellowjackets, and raccoons. Many large carnivores that hunt regularly, such as hyenas and lions, will scavenge if given the chance or use their size and ferocity to intimidate the original hunters.
Animals which consume feces, such as dung beetles, are referred to as coprovores. Animals which primarily consume dead plants are referred to as detritivores. The eating of carrion from the same species is referred to as cannibalism.
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Other Feeding habits Adaptations
Elsewhere on the web
- Scavenger (wikipedia.org)
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