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Jackals are the African and Eurasian answer to the coyote. They rarely hunt for their own food and most of the meat they eat is scavenged. These hyenas are smaller and rarer, and they’re truly scavengers. The striped hyena, though, is a different story. Ironically, while people assume that hyenas always try to steal food from lions, it’s really lions that are far more likely to scavenge food killed by spotted hyenas. Spotted hyenas rarely scavenge their food, and in fact they kill most of their own food. The spotted hyena is the most famous hyena species, and most people assume that it’s a scavenger. They’ll also happily raid your trash if they get they chance.
Scavengers animal free#
Still, they’re opportunists who never turn down a free meal.Ĭoyotes are infamous for killing pets, but they can also be spotted hanging around wolf kills, waiting for their chance to steal a meal. Like most scavengers, they aren’t only scavengers, they hunt for their own food as well. CoyoteĬoyotes, which live throughout all of North America, are some of the continent’s most important scavengers. Hardly any nature show set in Africa is complete without shots of crowds of vultures gathering around a lion kill. Vultures live all over the world but African vultures may be the most famous. They have unique, hardened, barbed tongues that allow them to pick bones clean, and they have remarkably strong stomach acid that kills bacteria and parasites. They’re some of the only animals in the world that are eat carrion exclusively, and they have impressive adaptations to make that possible. Vultures are infamous for being scavengers, and the reason they are first on a list of examples of scavengers.
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In fact, almost all predators are also scavengers, since it’s always easier to eat an animal that’s already dead than it is to try and kill one yourself. Other species are opportunists who scavenge when they have the chance. Some species are only scavengers, meaning they don’t kill their own food. In this article we’re going to give you 17 examples of scavengers along with some pictures and interesting facts about each one.Ī scavenger is any animal that eats meat or plants that are already dead. They also help to recycle nutrients and keep the environment healthy. They’re the world’s cleanup crew, removing rotting animals and plants and preventing them from spreading disease. Scavengers serve one of the most important functions in nature.
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