A preliminary investigation into the scavenging activity on pig carcasses in Western Australia

Abstract

Human remains exposed to an outdoor environment are subject not only to the process of decomposition, but also to the activity of scavenging fauna. The scavenging behavior of fauna can vary considerably with region and season, affecting the rate of decomposition, and more importantly, the accuracy of postmortem interval estimations. A thorough knowledge of the scavenging behavior of fauna present in the local environment is imperative for law enforcement and forensic investigators dealing with decomposed remains located outdoors. This study was conducted to identify the major scavengers of decomposing remains in the southwest region of Western Australia. Avian species were identified as the dominant scavengers amongst a range of birds, reptiles, mammals, and amphibians feeding on cadaveric tissues and associated insects. The scavenging behavior of the fauna varied with seasonal factors, including temperature and rainfall. The preliminary results are useful for forensic investigations involving decomposed remains in the southwest region of Western Australia.

An Investigation of Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes) and Eurasian Badger (Meles meles) Scavenging, Scattering, and Removal of Deer Remains: Forensic Implications and Applications

“…Badgers enter a state of torpor or semihibernation during winter and are most active from spring to fall, whereas foxes are active year round (4,31-33). Likewise, scavenging activity can be increased due to imminent breeding seasons and semihibernation which will require higher metabolic needs (34)(35)(36)(37)(38)(39)(40).…”

Forensically significant scavenging guilds in the southwest of Western Australia

“…The majority of published literature on animal scavenging in a forensic context is case based [4][5][6][7] with only a few experimentally based studies reported [8,9]. In the ecological setting there have been many published papers on scavenging and surveys of scavenging guilds [10][11][12].…”

“…There is a limited number of published papers on the scavenging activity of animals in Australia and even fewer addressing the taphonomic effects of scavenging [13,9].…”

Scavenging in Northwestern Europe: A Survey of UK Police Specialist Search Officers

“…More specifically within the U.K., common wild scavengers include wood mouse (Apodemus sylvaticus), grey squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis), carrion crow (Corvus corone), buzzard (Buteo buteo), Eurasian badger (Meles meles), and red fox (Vulpes vulpes) (Young et al, 2014a(Young et al, , 2014b. All of these scavengers are capable of causing significant soft tissue damage to surface deposited human remains (Mann et al, 1990;Haglund, 1992;Rothschild and Schneider, 1997;Byard et al, 2002;Asamura et al, 2004;Morton and Lord, 2006;Klippel and Synstelien, 2007;O'Brien et al, 2007). However, the bite force, jaw strength and body size of foxes and badgers enable them to not only scavenge human remains but also disarticulate and remove skeletal elements from deposit sites (Schmitz and Lavigne, 1987;Corbet and Harris, 1991;Alderton, 1994;Baryshnikov et al, 2003;Lee and Mill, 2004;Christiansen and Adolfssen, 2005;Sterry, 2005;Wroe et al, 2005;Christiansen and Wroe, 2007).…”