Scavengers often get a bad rap — hyena giggles are nefarious, crows gather in “murders” and the naked necks of vultures speak for themselves. But the bodies of the dead don’t just disappear. Scavengers — especially large species — ensure our world isn’t coated in carrion.
But in a survey of nearly 1,400 vertebrate scavenging species, 36 percent are declining or threatened with extinction, researchers report June 16 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The biggest scavengers are the most under threat, while smaller animals that scavenge on the side are thriving. Those side scavengers are more likely to spread diseases to humans. Conserving Earth’s dead-dining darlings,