Why dont we see a lot of dead animals around all over the ground?

[funboy6942]

I mean there are a ton of birds in trees, insects, and what have you, but the only time you see a dead one is when its road kill. You would think that since they do die off of old age you would see animals and insects dead all over falling from the trees and sky but you never do, unless its been run over.

I was just sitting outside and pondered this question to myself as I watched some tree rats chasing each other and wondered why you never see a dead one under a tree, ever, nor even birds and there is a shit load of birds flying all over, you would think you would see some birds dying and falling from the sky of a heart attack or something, but never do.

So why? Never a bear dead in the woods, or Deer, or foxes, or anything, where the fuck they go when they die of natural causes????

EDIT
Yes Im on drugs.

 

[FoBoT]

they get eaten by buzzards too fast

 

[mugs]

scavengers eat them?

 

[JeffreyLebowski]

It's because the rednecks have beaten you to it and they are making stew out of the animal.

 

[jamesbond007]

There's this awesome thing called a food chain and in this chain are animals classified as 'scavengers'. When a body falls over dead, fox, eagles, coyote, and the like are there first thing to eat it up.

Discovery channel much?

 

[funboy6942]

I can see some getting eaten after they die, but were talking a ton of these animals and insects all over the world, there has to be a chain of old ones dieing to make room for the newborns, so I cant see that many dropping dead everyday, and getting eaten soo fast you never see any of them laying on the ground.

 

[meltdown75]

they don't mysteriously seek out your front porch or yard when they are about to die. they're animals... they die where they live.

this never happens:

jimmy the squirrel: "welp i'm dyin... i'm going to the nearest subdivision to die and lay on display for funboy6942... peace out"

 

[BeauJangles]

Originally posted by: funboy6942
I can see some getting eaten after they die, but were talking a ton of these animals and insects all over the world, there has to be a chain of old ones dieing to make room for the newborns, so I cant see that many dropping dead everyday, and getting eaten soo fast you never see any of them laying on the ground.

Most animals have a good idea of when they're going to die and they act accordingly. They wander off to a secluded area and await their fate. They don't go running to the nearest Walmart parking lot.

 

[PottedMeat]

errr most of the dying/sick ones are the most vulnerable so they try to hide and get better so you never see them?

 

[funboy6942]

OK, but I dont live in the city, I live in the country, next to the woods and open fields. They dont have to go anywhere to die. If they die where they live, then by all rights I should see them falling dead out of the trees and shit right in front of me

 

[sao123]

Originally posted by: funboy6942
OK, but I dont live in the city, I live in the country, next to the woods and open fields. They dont have to go anywhere to die. If they die where they live, then by all rights I should see them falling dead out of the trees and shit right in front of me

dying animals head for cover... in the thinckest heaviest brush and jaggers imaginable.

 

[WildHorse]

``

 

[skace]

When I was hiking I saw a dead corpse, it smelled awful and was covered in flies and all sorts of insects. Next time I went by it was gone. Hope that answers your question...

 

[Red Squirrel]

Search youtube for "decay time lapse" or stuff of that sort. You'd be surprised how fast a body decays.

 

[IceBergSLiM]

really....isn't this like 6th grade sceience?

 

[Nyati13]

Originally posted by: BeauJangles

Originally posted by: funboy6942
I can see some getting eaten after they die, but were talking a ton of these animals and insects all over the world, there has to be a chain of old ones dieing to make room for the newborns, so I cant see that many dropping dead everyday, and getting eaten soo fast you never see any of them laying on the ground.

Most animals have a good idea of when they're going to die and they act accordingly. They wander off to a secluded area and await their fate. They don't go running to the nearest Walmart parking lot.

Right, and excluding roadways, most of the places they die have this stuff called "grass" and "bushes" that hide the remains from casual view.

 

[IronWing]

Have you checked your gutters lately?

 

[hanoverphist]

i see small skeletons and remains while hiking all the time. some skeletons are pretty much fully intact as well, pretty cool.

 

[geno]

Originally posted by: IcebergSlim
really....isn't this like 6th grade sceience?

If only you passed 6th grade spelling

 

[So]

Originally posted by: skace
When I was hiking I saw a dead corpse, it smelled awful and was covered in flies and all sorts of insects. Next time I went by it was gone. Hope that answers your question...

I prefer my corpses live. Much more fun that way.

 

[SphinxnihpS]

RAPTURE!

Go get your God damned Bible!

 

[BoomerD]

The OP must not actually get out into the countryside much. We used to find deer, antelope, and elk carcasses all the time in various states of decay.(when we lived in the Rockies, especially in Wyoming.) During the winter, it was pretty common to see them hung up in fences along the roads as well as on the shoulders of the roads where they'd been hit by cars.

Yes, the scavengers will make pretty quick work of a carcass, but usually leave some signs. (scattered bones, bits of fur/hair, etc.)

 

[SacrosanctFiend]

Originally posted by: JeffreyLebowski
It's because the rednecks have beaten you to it and they are making stew out of the animal.

Funny you should mention that...

Our plant VP, fresh from Japan (he arrived in America 3 weeks prior) was driving back from the plant around 7:00pm. He smashed into a deer at about 50mph and immediately called me to come help him out. When I arrived, there was no deer to be found, so I asked if it had run off after he hit it.

He told me that the deer hadn't run off, but three large rednecks had stopped, got out of their car, and kept pointing at the dead deer lying in front of his car. Not fully understanding what the rednecks had said (hell, I can't even understand most of them) he just shook his head, the rednecks said thanks, and threw the deer into the back of their pickup truck and drove off. He was really confused when I got there, and asked if all Americans did this.

 

[Fern]

Originally posted by: RedSquirrel
Search youtube for "decay time lapse" or stuff of that sort. You'd be surprised how fast a body decays.

Exactly.

Saw one of those Discovery shows. They were trying to get a pic of some kind of preditor. Well, they laid out a deer carcus in front of a camera hoping to catch glipse. They came back a few days later and were surprised the body was gone.

Insects ate it - like a bazillion maggots (the vid captured it). Then with leaves falling/blowing around and covering up what was left you could've walked right over it and not noticed.

Fern

 

[TwiceOver]

The same reason you don't see dead humans all over the place. The animal kingdom gets together and burys the poor animal.