Where do wild animal go to die?.

the keen edge · 07-12-2011 11:45am #1

Probably a question that country folk, more so than urban dwellers, may be better suited to ponder on, or answer.

So the Irish countryside is full of wildlife, a wide array of different animals. Badgers, Foxes, Swans and vast numbers of birds.
But the thing is, save the odd badger or Fox that you see lying dead on the roadside, you almost never see dead wild animals.

Birds for example(feathered!), there must be millions of them in the country, however I could count on one hand the amount of times that I've seen a dead one lying about.

Do their bodies get scavenged immediately, is decomposition rapid?.

I've always wondered what happens to the bodies of those thousands that fall from the sky daily, never to fly again?.

CardBordWindow · 07-12-2011 11:48am

Birds dying mid-flight is rare. It normally only happens after they hit a plane!
If an animal dies in the wild, they are often just made into a meal by other animals. The circle of life and all that.

foxyboxer · 07-12-2011 11:51am

In our back garden, under the heating oil container, a pigeon is cooped up underneath. We presume it's there to die as it no longer has the energy to fly or is too injured to search for food. My dad puts out water and grains for it.

Still there for the time being at least.

Caveman1 · 07-12-2011 11:52am

I'd imagine most of the animals you see lying dead by the road hae been killed by a car or so and not went there to die

Riddle101 · 07-12-2011 11:57am

Well with an animal, they would naturally be weak during the whole dying process, as would a human. But considering their life in the wild, they proberly want to find a place that will allow them to die in peace, away from predators. Their survival instincts would still be kicking in while they're dying I would imagine. So it's possible they hide themselves away when dying, and people just rarely find the dead animals. That's just my theory.

luckyfrank · 07-12-2011 11:58am

The animal hospice

the keen edge · 07-12-2011 12:01pm

Riddle101 wrote: »

Well with an animal, they would naturally be weak during the whole dying process, as would a human. But considering their life in the wild, they proberly want to find a place that will allow them to die in peace, away from predators. Their survival instincts would still be kicking in while they're dying I would imagine. So it's possible they hide themselves away when dying.

Yeah this seem the most likely reason for not seeing dead animals littered about the place.

Still considering the huge amount of wildlife out there, you would expect to see a little more of death.

Standard Toaster · 07-12-2011 12:04pm

SuperMacs

FatherLen · 07-12-2011 12:07pm

on one hand? i have seen hundreds of dead birds!

old_aussie · 07-12-2011 12:09pm

They go to the wilderness

biko · 07-12-2011 12:13pm

Pet Sematary

old_aussie · 07-12-2011 12:18pm

FatherLen wrote: »

on one hand? i have seen hundreds of dead birds!

They must be very small birds.

Cú Giobach · 07-12-2011 12:36pm

When you see one of those live animals you mentioned, that's where the dead ones are.

A dead animal will also last longer on the side of a busy road compared to a quiet ditch, because the diners would be constantly interrupted by traffic while trying to enjoy their meal.