Scavenger

A scavenger is an organism that feeds on dead or decaying organic matter, often consuming remains left by other organisms.

Carrion: The decaying flesh of dead animals. Carrion is the animal material that many scavengers locate and consume.
Nutrient cycling: The movement and reuse of chemical elements through living organisms and the environment. By consuming carcasses, scavengers return nutrients to food webs and ecosystems.
Predation: An interaction in which one organism kills and consumes another. Predators typically kill prey; scavengers feed on organisms already dead.
Hooded vulture: A small African vulture that feeds on carrion and human waste. Its varied diet shows that scavenging can include refuse as well as carcasses.
Olfaction: The sense of smell, produced by detecting airborne chemical compounds. Vultures and other scavengers use airborne odors to find carcasses.
Food web: A network of feeding relationships among organisms in an ecosystem. Scavengers connect dead organisms to consumers and decomposers in food webs.
Decomposer: An organism, such as a fungus or bacterium, that breaks down dead matter chemically. Decomposers absorb or chemically break down matter rather than typically eating carcass pieces.
Hyena: A carnivorous mammal family whose species include hunters and scavengers. Spotted hyenas both hunt live prey and scavenge carcasses.
Decomposition: The breakdown of dead organic matter into simpler substances. Scavenging begins the breakdown of remains and overlaps with later decomposition.
Anthrax: A serious infectious disease caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis. Vultures can reduce exposure to anthrax by rapidly consuming infected carcasses.

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