carrion
Rotting animal flesh
Carrion is the decaying flesh of dead animals.
Vultures, crows, and other scavengers feed on carrion.
The word often carries connotations of rot and disgust: The battlefield reeked of carrion.
As an adjective, it describes creatures that eat the dead: carrion birds circled overhead.
Carrion-eating raptor
- hyenaCackling African carnivore
- jackalWild African dog
- buzzardSoaring carrion-eating raptor
- marabouCarrion-eating African stork
condor · crow · raven · coyote · raccoon · opossum · magpie · blowfly
Slaughtered animal's body
- corpseDeceased human body
- cadaverBody for dissection
- remainsContinues in place
- bodyPhysical structure, living thing
bones · offal · roadkill · carcasses · animal remains · deadfall · kill · prey
Bacterial breakdown of tissue
- decompositionBreakdown into simpler parts
- rottingOrganic matter decomposing
- stenchPowerfully offensive odor
- putridDecomposed and foul-smelling
festering · bloating · maggots · bacteria · fungi · moldering · fetid · malodorous
State of eventual death
perished · expired · slain · killed · predation · natural death · roadkill · aftermath
Ecological feeding hierarchy
- food webInterconnected predator-prey relationships
- decompositionBreakdown into simpler parts
- ecosystemInterconnected organisms and surroundings
- energy flowMovement of power through systems
biodiversity · soil fertility · organic matter · recycling · biotic · habitat · nature · wilderness
vulture
Carrion-eating raptor
marabou · condor · crow · raven · coyote · raccoon · opossum · magpie · blowfly · maggot
carcass
Slaughtered animal's body
body · bones · offal · roadkill · carcasses · animal remains · deadfall · kill · prey · deceased
putrefaction
Bacterial breakdown of tissue
- decompositionBreakdown into simpler parts
- rottingOrganic matter decomposing
- stenchPowerfully offensive odor
putrid · festering · bloating · maggots · bacteria · fungi · moldering · fetid · malodorous · foul
mortality
State of eventual death
fallen · perished · expired · slain · killed · predation · natural death · roadkill · aftermath · morbid
food chain
Ecological feeding hierarchy
- food webInterconnected predator-prey relationships
- decompositionBreakdown into simpler parts
- ecosystemInterconnected organisms and surroundings
energy flow · biodiversity · soil fertility · organic matter · recycling · biotic · habitat · nature · wilderness · regeneration
carrionfresh meat
Naive new targets
live prey · prime cut · prime cuts · game · quarry
- carrion birdBird eating dead animals
- carrion eaterConsumer of dead animals
- carrion beetlesInsects that eat decay
carnival, carnivore, carnage, carnal, incarnate, incarnation, carnation, reincarnation, carnality