SREL Reprint #2617

Identification of vertebrate scavengers of small mammal carcasses in a forested landscape

Travis L. DeVault and Olin E. Rhodes Jr

Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, USA

Abstract: We identified vertebrate scavengers of small mammal carcasses at the 780-km2 Savannah River Site during the winter of 2000-2001. Rodent carcasses, differing in size and visual conspicuousness, were placed in upland pine forests and bottomland hardwood forests during six 2-week periods. Sixty-two of the 96 carcasses (65%) were removed by vertebrates. With the aid of remote photography, we identified 11 species of scavengers removing carcasses. Raccoons Procyon lotor, gray foxes Urocyon cinereoargenteus, and feral pigs Sus scrofa scavenged most frequently. The mean elapsed time for carcass removal was 5.6 days. The number of carcasses removed by vertebrates did not differ significantly with respect to carcass size, visual conspicuousness, or habitat type; however, air temperature was strongly correlated (positively) with carcass removal. Our study demonstrates that many mammal species are capable of utilizing small carrion items as a food resource, and suggests that scavenging may account for a higher proportion of the diet of some facultative scavengers than is now widely assumed.

Keywords: carrion, diet, food habits, remote photography, scavenging

SREL Reprint #2617

DeVault, T. L. and O. E. Rhodes, Jr. 2002. Identification of vertebrate scavengers of small mammal carcasses in a forested landscape. Acta Theriologica 47:185-192.

This information was provided by the University of Georgia's Savannah River Ecology Laboratory (srel.uga.edu).