Re(2): Still absent logic

[Lars_Bergquist@public.se (Lars Bergquist)]

On 95-02-13 at 19.08, Flyinggoat@aol.com wrote:

> Does anyone other than me know that carrion eaters like buzzards
> HAVE to eat offal because they can't digest fresh meat? 

Yes, that may well be the case in some species. But it is certainly not
a general phenomenon. Lions and hyaenas, for instance, do eat a lot
of carrion but also fresh meat. I do not know if there are any *obligate*
carrion-feeders among the mammals, and I am not certain that even
vultures are that limited. (We do not have any specialized carrion
birds around here; not even ravens are obligate svavengers, though the
Viking phrase "to feed the raven" meant to die on the battlefield). One 
interesting case is however many, if not all crocodilians, which much
prefer to let large prey "hang" for a while. The reason, however, may
not have anything to do with digestion. The dentition may well be the
proximal cause--as far as I understand, croc teeth are excellent for
holding prey, but not for cutting it up (it seems that crocs often have
to drown large prey animals). So a bit of decomposition is helpful at
lunchtime. How about dino dentitions? Or am I completely wrong? 
Information, anybody?

By the way, we have one species of buzzard here, Buteo buteo (is
that your species?) and it takes lots of live prey, snakes among
other things. No problems with digestion there. No special tendency
to hunt in packs, either. (The fact that two or more predators see
and attack the same prey animal simultaneously does of course not
constitute *cooperative* hunting--the criterion is instead that the
participants adjust their behavior in the direction of optimum
*collective* efficiency--and that presupposes food sharing after the
kill. No incentive to cooperate if you are robbed of your share.)

Lars Bergquist
lars_bergquist@public.se
(lexicographer ... "a harmless drudge" according to Dr. Johnson,
so bear with me)

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