The term scavenger is used to refer to something linked to carrion : something that is corrupted or rotten or that is vile . The adjective is usually used to describe the animal whose diet is based on eating meat from the dead bodies of other animals that it did not hunt .
Scavenger species , also called ghouls , eat corpses. Unlike predators, they do not hunt or kill animals, but instead feed on their bodies . Their role in the food chain is very important since they contribute to the elimination of organic remains.
These inert bodies, which if not consumed by scavenging animals would contaminate the environment and generate an ecological imbalance, are converted through their actions into new nutrients that return to the soil. We can say that it is a form of recycling that, like practically everything we believe we have invented, nature designed long before us.
Vultures , raccoons , and green flies are some of the scavengers. It should be noted, however, that there are predators that, beyond hunting, also adopt scavenging behavior on certain occasions. That is the case of hyenas , for example.
Crows are other of the best-known scavenger animals, in addition to being greatly admired for their cunning. Squirrels and other small mammals that die from car accidents are one of their many food sources, supplemented by chicks and eggs from smaller birds.
In the eastern hemisphere, marabou storks move along with hyenas and vultures in search of dead reptiles, fish, and other animals; in some cases, they even feed on elephant carcasses .
Suppose a lion chases, attacks and kills a deer. This carnivorous feline will eat the meat of its prey and possibly leave leaving some remains behind. Then scavenger animals such as crows can come into action, feeding on the deer hunted by the lion.
Scavengers also consume plant material that is in a state of decomposition . The source of carrion, that is, the food of these species, is not always the same, but their refusal to kill to obtain it remains constant.
Scavenger birds know very well which animals they should follow closely to ensure food . In fact, they usually have several potential hunts in view until the first one comes to fruition and the remains of the prey become available. In the countryside, people take advantage of the habit that these birds have of flying over corpses to find out if any of their animals have died.
In addition to the remains that hunters leave of their prey , either because they do not want to continue eating or because they are not attractive to them, scavengers also feed on victims of car accidents, which occur very frequently on highways and rural roads, although also in cities.
Natural death is another source of food for them, and this phenomenon not only occurs in elderly individuals but also in offspring that are born prematurely or that die due to a disease .
The notion of scavenger is also used to describe the person who usually investigates the miseries of others to criticize, generate conflicts or take advantage. A journalist who places a hidden camera to record how a famous actor with addiction problems buys drugs, and then broadcasts said recording on his television program can be called a scavenger.