Vultures skeletonise corpse for the sake of forensics

Let’s hear it for Central Texas! (San Marcos isn’t far from Austin, where I live.)

oldowan:

Ever entertained the idea of leaving your body to science? Even if you have, you can scarcely have considered the strange fate of one donated corpse that has just been revealed in the journal Forensic Science International: a donor’s body was left in a Texan wilderness so that vultures could scavenge and “skeletonise” it - and distribute the remains far and wide.

This wasn’t for some horror movie - even though the process was captured on video. The aim was to discover how long it takes vultures to discover a body, how long it takes to reduce a body to bones - and how far the creatures are likely to distribute the parts they don’t eat.

(via xmorbidcuriosityx)