Scavenging by vertebrates: behavioral, ecological, and evolutionary perspectives

DeVault, Rhodes and Shivik synthesized the neglected ecology of carrion use, arguing that scavenging is far more pervasive and important than traditionally recognized and that most carnivores, including felids, are facultative scavengers. The review covered carcass detection, competition among scavengers, energetics, and the flow of carrion-derived energy through food webs. It reframed the predator-scavenger boundary as a continuum and highlighted how carcasses from felid kills subsidize diverse scavenger communities. For felid ecology the paper underpins work on how big cats both lose kills to scavengers and provision them, and how carrion shapes intraguild interactions, making it a foundational reference for carcass and scavenging ecology.