When animals are killed by predators on land in the wild, there’s a good chance
The same is true in the ocean. Essentially, if there are predators out there who do not finish the whole meal, you better believe something will come to fit the “I’ll just take the scraps” niche. But some carcasses are more difficult to scavenge than others, which (along with mermaids) was the surprising subject of a viral X (Twitter) thread on Tuesday.
After whales die, they begin to decompose. Gases during decomposition can sometimes float the animal to the surface, where
Generally, as noted by Kairo, who runs a popular science-based
The thread suggests (for fun) that one mythical animal could perfectly fit this niche, and have itself an easy life opening up whales and scavenging on the gooey bits inside.
“MERMAIDS” They have hands! And teamwork! And tools!” Kairo
While a fun idea, whale carcasses are not going to waste as it is (other than the occasional time they are
Scavengers tend to consume the soft tissues of the animal within months, while fragments of flesh feed nearby critters for over a year.
“The whale skeleton can support rich communities for years to decades, both as a hard substrate (or surface) for invertebrate colonization and as a source of sulfides from the decay of organic compounds of whale bones. Microbes live off of the energy released from these chemical reactions and form the basis of ecosystems for as long as the food source lasts,” the
While scavengers at the surface may struggle to get a share of the carcass, scavengers down below sure finish the job.