Animal Scavenging

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Fig.1 Animal predation by a dog.

Animal predation by a dog

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Russia. This individual died at his home from thromboembolism, he was found a week later, during that time…
Fig.1 Body recovered from the bank of a swamp.

Body recovered from the bank of a swamp

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The body of a 35-year-old woman was recovered from the bank of a swamp in the southeastern United…
Fig.1 Postmortem animal predation.

Postmortem animal predation

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This individual has signs of postmortem (after death) animal scavenging around the mouth, made by a dog that…
Fig.1 Postmortem changes associated with small fish.

Postmortem changes associated with small fish

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The individual in this photograph has postmortem changes associated with small fish that feed on soft tissue like…
Fig.1

Postmortem animal activity

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Larger carnivore activity is common in rural and suburban areas. In many cases, there may be activity from…
Fig.1 Postmortem animal scavenging.

Postmortem animal scavenging

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Extensive traces of scavenging next to the body after it had been enclosed at home for an extended…
Fig.2

Animal scavenging on a murder victim

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Mexico. A 42-year-old man was murdered and left out in the field. Animal scavenging had occurred to his…

The Death Mask Murder case

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Rockland County, NY, US. In March 1985 some young boys found a charred and mutilated corpse in a…
Fig.4

The murder of two men

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In March 2012 a charred corpse was found near the Shkotovo-Artem highway in Russia. The corpse was discovered…
Fig.1 Skeletal remains of a body found outdoors.

Skeletal remains of a body found outdoors

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Nassau County, New York. Skeletal remains of a body found outdoors. No further info. Skeletonization is the state…
Fig.1 Postmortem animal predation.

Postmortem animal predation

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This individual died and his body was scavenged by animals, no further info. The phenomenon of postmortem animal…
Fig.1 Rapid skeletonization of remains due to water temperature and carnivorous fish species.

Rapid skeletonization due to carnivorous fish species

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Brazil. Rapid skeletonization of remains may occur in bodies of water in tropical areas due to water temperature…
Fig.1 Woman’s face eaten by the family dog.

Woman’s face eaten by the family dog

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This woman’s face was eaten by the family dog postmortem, which increased putrefactive changes to the internal components…
Fig.1 Anterior view of the head and neck showing extensive scavenging of the face.

Postmortem animal activity on woman’s face by her puppy

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This woman was located deceased at home in her bedroom wearing only a pair of underpants, lying on…

The use of dentures to identify a decomposed body from the sea

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The body of this decomposed individual was pulled from the sea. The loss of tissue around eyes and…
Fig.1 Injuries from scavenging on the face.

Postmortem animal predation

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San Fransisco, US - 2008. This individual had died and his body scavenged by animals postmortem, no further…
Fig.1 Postmortem predation by eels.

Postmortem predation by eels

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This individual was found dead in water. Postmortem activity by eels were discovered on the body. Such injuries…
Fig.1 Postmortem animal activity.

Postmortem animal activity

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The phenomenon of postmortem animal interference with human bodies or their remains is a substantial part of the…
Fig.1 Scene where the body was recovered from.

Indoor postmortem animal scavenging by 15 dogs

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In Sri Lanka, a 76-year-old female was found dead in her house lying supine on the bed and…
Fig.1 Postmortem injuries by pet dog with near total absence of facial skin and nose.

Postmortem injuries inflicted by a domestic dog

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The individual in the images received the injuries postmortem by a domestic dog, cause of death unknown. No…
Fig.1 The victim.

Man eaten by vulture catfish

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A 29-year-old man was fishing when his canoe turned over and his body submerged. The body was recovered…
Fig.1 Animal feeding on badly burned body.

Animal feeding on badly burned body

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Nassau County, New York. This badly burned body had been dumped at an outside location where animals fed…
Fig.1 Postmortem predation by a dog.

Postmortem predation by a dog

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Early postmortem predation by a dog with bite marks evident at the edge of the soft tissue defect.…
Fig.1 Face consumed postmortem by a domestic dog.

Face consumed postmortem by a domestic dog

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The individual in the images received the injuries postmortem by a domestic dog, cause of death unknown. No…

Woman’s face eaten postmortem by her dog

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A 40-year-old woman was found dead in her apartment lying supine on the bed and the upper trunk…
Fig.1 Dumped body.

Dumped body

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Dumped body (Illinois State Police case Highway 64). Animal scavenging on face and left arm. This victim was…

Postmortem animal predation by a cat

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This individual died and was attacked postmortem by a cat, no further info. Postmortem animal depredation is a…
Fig.1 Body at the bodyfarm at The University of Tennessee Anthropology Research Facility.

Raccoon scavenging on a human corpse

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The image is of a body at the bodyfarm at The University of Tennessee Anthropology Research Facility. The…
Fig.1 Skeletonization of the head and neck from animal predation.

Skeletonization of the head

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Skeletonization of the head, neck, and the left hand due to animal predation in a body that was…
Fig.1 Body dumped in a wooded area near LA and scavenged by animals.

Body dumped near LA and scavenged by animals

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A body was dumped in a wooded area near Los Angeles. By the time it was discovered about…
Fig.1 Woman's face eaten postmortem by an animal.

Woman’s face eaten postmortem by an animal

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The woman in this photo passed away, and an animal in the household started to eat her face…

The impact of upright position on decomposition

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Decomposition studies have elucidated many different factors affecting the rate and process of decomposition. However, no study has…
Fig.1 Postmortem carnivore activity around the mouth of a decedent.

Postmortem carnivore activity around the mouth of a decedent

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A typical area of carnivore activity centered around the mouth of a decedent can be seen in this…
Fig.1 Postmortem mutilation by dogs.

Postmortem mutilation by dogs

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This individual died and was attacked postmortem by dogs, no further info. Postmortem animal depredation is a substantial…
Fig.1 Postmortem animal activity by mice.

Postmortem animal activity by mice

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This old man died and was then partially consumed by some mice, no further info. Postmortem animal interference…
Fig. 3 The skull of the decedent with defleshing of the face and removal of the eyeballs. The orbits were filled with large amounts of white mold.

Postmortem predation by a clowder of domestic cats

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Australia. A 69-year-old man was found lying on the floor at his home address(Fig. 1). According to the…
Fig.1 Postmortem rat bites.

Postmortem rat bites

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This individual received the injuries postmortem by rats, cause of death unknown. No further info on the case.…
Fig.1 Postmortem animal depredation after poisoning.

Postmortem animal depredation after poisoning

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Spain. This individual died after ingesting poison. The injuries were inflicted postmortem by a dog. No further info.…
Fig.1 Postmortem animal predation by a pet dog.

Postmortem animal predation by a pet dog

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Animal predation is less commonly seen than insect predation. Because most putrefied bodies are recovered from a home…
Fig.1 Postmortem facial injuries inflicted by rodents.

Postmortem facial injuries inflicted by rodents

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This individual received the injuries postmortem by rodents, cause of death unknown. No further info on the case.…
Fig.1 The remains of an adult male found in a river after a crocodile attack. Colorized image.

Fatal Crocodile Attack [Colorized]

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Australia. The remains of an adult male found in a river after a crocodile attack. The head had…
Fig.2

Postmortem animal predation on woman’s face by a domestic pet

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King County, WA, USA. The face of this woman shows typical postmortem animal scavenging injuries, in this case…
Fig.1

Postmortem animal interference on a female corpse

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I unfortunately don't have the backstory here, other than this is from a case of postmortem animal interference,…
Fig.1 Wounds caused by a German shepherd postmortem [Colorized].

Face and neck eaten by German shepherd

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I colorized the original black and white image. Rounded, regular wound margins caused by a German shepherd postmortem.…