The act of eating carrion is termed necrophagy or necrophagia,[12] and organisms that do this are described asnecrophages or necrophagous animals.[13] The termscavenger is widely used to describe carrion-eating animals too, but this term is broader in scope, encompassing also the consumption ofrefuse and dead plant material.[14]
Carrion begins to decay at the moment of the animal's death, and it will increasingly attract insects and breedbacteria. Not long after the animal has died, its body will begin to exude a foul odor caused by the presence of bacteria and the emission ofcadaverine andputrescine.[15]
With the possible exception of somehagfish species, the only vertebrates known to rely on carrion for survival are the New World vultures (e.g.black vultures) and Old World vultures (e.g. cinereous vultures).[16]
Most of the animals that eat carrion opportunistically are carnivores (e.g. spotted hyenas, abyssal grenadiers) or omnivores (e.g. wild boars), but some herbivores (e.g.Egyptian mastigures) also eat carrion in times of food scarcity.[28]
Later in theQuaternary period, hominins turned more to hunting for food. At what stage this happened is unclear. Some researchers propose thatHomo neanderthalensis was more a hunter than a scavenger based onstable isotope analyses and other evidence.[33][34] However, this interpretation of the isotopic data has been questioned.[35] Later still, hominins turned toherding wild animals and thehusbandry of domesticated animals.[34]
Among modern-dayhunter-gatherer communities who regularly eat carrion as part of their diet, some precautionary behaviors have been documented. These include prioritizing reaching carcasses quickly after death, butchering anddisemboweling the carcass, andcooking orsun-drying the meat and viscera recovered.[36][39]
The thirty-count laws ofUlla (Talmudist) include the prohibition of humans consuming carrion.[40] This count is in addition to the standard seven law count and has been recently[when?] published from the Judeo-Arabic writing ofShmuel ben Hophni Gaon after having been lost for centuries.[41]
Animals killed by strangling, a violent blow, a headlong fall, being gored to death, or from which a predatory animal has partially eaten are considered types of carrion, and are forbidden in Islam.[42]
Sometimes carrion is used to describe an infected carcass that is diseased and should not be touched. An example of carrion being used to describe dead and rotting bodies in literature may be found inWilliam Shakespeare's playJulius Caesar (III.i):[43]
Cry 'Havoc,' and let slip the dogs of war; That this foul deed shall smell above the earth With carrion men, groaning for burial.
Another example can be found in Daniel Defoe'sRobinson Crusoe when the title character kills an unknown bird for food but finds "its flesh was carrion, and fit for nothing".
Some plants andfungi smell likedecomposing carrion and attract insects that aid in reproduction. Plants that exhibit this behavior are known ascarrion flowers.[44]Stinkhorn mushrooms are examples of fungi with this characteristic.[44]
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^abcKunanusont, C; Limpakarnjanarat, K; Foy, HM (1990). "Outbreak of anthrax in Thailand".Annals of Tropical Medicine & Parasitology.84 (5):507–512.doi:10.1080/00034983.1990.11812502.PMID2124098.
^Galey, FD; Terra, R; Walker, R; Adaska, J; Etchebarne, MA; Puschner, B; Fisher, E; Whitlock, RH; Rocke, T; Willoughby, D; Tor, E (2000). "Type C botulism in dairy cattle from feed contaminated with a dead cat".Journal of Veterinary Diagnostic Investigation.12 (3):204–209.Bibcode:2000JVDI...12..204G.doi:10.1177/104063870001200302.PMID10826832.
^Evelsizer, DD; Clark, RG; Bollinger, TK (2010). "Relationships between local carcass density and risk of mortality in molting mallards during avian botulism outbreaks".Journal of Wildlife Diseases.46 (2):507–513.doi:10.7589/0090-3558-46.2.507.PMID20688643.
^Allen JC, Anderson GS, Benecke M, et al. (2001). Byrd JH, Castner JL (eds.).Forensic Entomology: The Utility of Arthropods in Legal Investigations. London: CRC Press. pp. 43–80,143–176,177–222,263–286,331–340.ISBN978-0-8493-8120-1.
^abMoleón, M; Sánchez-Zapata, JA; Margalida, A; Carrete, M; Owen-Smith, N; Donázar, JA (2014). "Humans and scavengers: the evolution of interactions and ecosystem services".BioScience.64 (5):394–403.doi:10.1093/biosci/biu034.
^Speth, JD (2017)."Putrid meat and fish in the Eurasian Middle and Upper Paleolithic: are we missing a key part of Neanderthal and Modern Human diet?".PaleoAnthropology.2017:44–72.doi:10.4207/PA.2017.ART105 (inactive 4 July 2025).Putrefaction also may alter the isotopic composition of the diet. As meat and fish decompose, a variety of volatile compounds are produced, including ammonia. Loss of NH3, along with lesser amounts of two other nitrogenous gases—cadaverine and putrescine—would very likely leave rotted meat and fish enriched in15N by comparison to the isotopic composition of these foods in their fresh state. Such enrichment may have contributed to the elevated values seen in many Neanderthals, values that are widely taken asprima facie evidence of Neanderthal's status as a 'top predator.'{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of July 2025 (link)
^abO'Connell, JF; Hawkes, K; Blurton-Jones, N (1988). "Hadza hunting, butchering, and bone transport and their archaeological implications".Journal of Anthropological Research.44 (2):113–161.doi:10.1086/jar.44.2.3630053.
^O'Connell, JF; Hawkes, K; Blurton-Jones, N (1988). "Hadza scavenging: implications for Plio/Pleistocene hominid subsistence".Current Anthropology.29 (2):356–363.doi:10.1086/203648.Scavenging is a standard part of Hadza foraging. All Hadza monitor the flight of vultures and listen carefully to the night-time calls of lions and hyenas. While hunting, adult men often visit areas where lions have been active, especially during the dry season, when they are likely to be operating near the same water sources. If they suspect a possible scavenging opportunity, Hadza abandon other activities and move quickly to the spot, often at a run. On arrival, they attempt to drive off any predators that are present and appropriate the kill.
^Al-Teinaz, Yunes Ramadan; Spear, Stuart; Abd El-Rahim, Ibrahim H. A., eds. (2019).The Halal Food Handbook. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.ISBN978-1-118-82311-8.
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The dictionary definition ofcarrion at Wiktionary