Crabs and lobsters feed on dead fish or any other decomposing organism found in their aquatic environment. Eels also consume dead fish. The great white shark, one of the greatest super-predators of the oceans, eats: dead whales, dead fish and dead sea lions. The most characteristic scavenger bird species is the vulture. There are roughly 23 vulture species in the world, including: the black vulture in danger of extinction and the griffon vulture.
These animals scan the earth's surface from the air in search of dead animals which they feed exclusively on. They have a sharp sight and a very developed sense of smell. Its beak and claws are not as strong as those of other bird species, since they do not need them to hunt. They are bald, an adaptation which evolved to help them not accumulate remains of carrion between their feathers: avoiding infections through pathogenic bacteria. Of course, there are other carrion birds.
Here is a list of more scavenger birds and their names:. If you want to read similar articles to What Are Scavenger Animals? Share on:. What Are Scavenger Animals? By Ameera Mills. A few are omnivores and gain nourishment from rotting plant matter or even paper in the case of certain insects. Scavengers occasionally act as predators, but this typically only happens under certain circumstances, such as during extreme hunger or with prey that is nearly dead already.
Hyenas are an example of practiced scavengers on land. When alone, they will eat dead animals that they happen across. They will also work together to steal meat from freshly killed animals from lions if they can get away with it, although this is risky behavior.
Hyenas in packs will act as formal predators in their own right, but for the most part they manage to get by on scavenging. Ample opportunities for feeding exist for scavengers in marine environments. For example, crabs and lobsters — which, as a trip to any seafood restaurant confirms, are themselves below humans in the food chain — will eat carrion along with practically anything else they can uncover.
Eels consume dead fish. Great white sharks, despite their Hollywood-inspired reputation for hunting, also eat dead whales, dead fish and dead sea lions. The turkey vulture Cathartes aura of the Americas is one of the only bird species that has a sense of smell , which is utilized to find carrion.
Some mammals are opportunistic Vultures feeding on a giraffe in Kenya. JLM Visuals. Reproduced by permission. Lions, leopards, wolves, and other predator s—animals that hunt other animals—will eat carrion if they come across it. Black bears feed mostly on fruit, nuts, and berries, but they, too, will eat dead animals.
Foxes and coyotes are more likely to eat carrion in the winter when they cannot find other food. Because most scavengers are flexible about what they eat, they have an easier time finding food than creatures with more restrict ed diets.
This sometimes makes scavengers better at adapting to new environments than other organisms. Urban development , the process of clearing land for homes, businesses, and agriculture , destroys animal habitat, the places where animals live in the wild. Herbivores such as elephants cannot survive without a lot of trees and grasses to eat, for example.
In developed areas, carnivores such as the mountain lion often do not have enough prey to survive. Scavengers, however, can usually adapt well to an urban area or farmland. In the wild, the American crow will eat mice, eggs, seeds, and nuts. However, in developed areas, one of its most common meals is roadkill , or the remains of animals that have been hit by cars. Scavengers such as opossums, seagulls, and raccoons thrive on food in garbage cans.
Sometimes, scavengers can pose a danger to people or themselves. The polar bear s around Churchill, Canada, for instance, adapted to life near a developed area by seeking out food from the town dump. These large carnivores became a major threat to the community. Some of the food the bears scavenged also poison ed them. In , Churchill closed its dump to protect the bears and the community.
Thunderbirds With an average wingspan of about 3 meters 9 feet , the California condor, a type of vulture, is the largest North American bird.
Native American tribes named this scavenger the thunderbird, because they believed the huge wings have the power to produce thunder. Female mammals produce milk to feed their offspring. Also called an autotroph. The audio, illustrations, photos, and videos are credited beneath the media asset, except for promotional images, which generally link to another page that contains the media credit.
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