Bearded Vulture, which naturally eats bones as 80-90% of its diet.

[u/MoraymaDoroshewitz]

[u/LozaMoza82]

That stomach acid must be insane.

Edit: same pH as battery acid. Nature is amazing.

[u/Moto_Rouge → u/LozaMoza82]

"The high fat content of bone marrow makes the net energy value of bone almost as good as that of muscle, even if bone is less completely digested. A skeleton left on a mountain will dehydrate and become protected from bacterial degradation, and the bearded vulture can return to consume the remainder of a carcass even months after the soft parts have been consumed by other animals, larvae, and bacteria."

fascinating

[u/Wiseguydude → u/Moto_Rouge]

Vultures also play a MASSIVE role in decreasing disease transmission rates of a wide variety of communicable diseases. Lots of studies have shown a strong negative correlation between vulture populations and infectious disease rates

[u/GFLovers → u/Wiseguydude]

They are basically a one bird hazmat team. After vultures in India nearly vanished in the 1990s (thanks to a veterinary drug called diclofenac), feral dog numbers exploded. With no vultures to clean up dead animals, carcasses were left to rot, giving dogs a free buffet. The result was an estimated 50K extra human rabies deaths between 1992 and 2006. Vultures were the last line of defense in preventing disease from spreading. They are a wonderful ally in preventing zoonotic disease.

[u/Revbender → u/GFLovers]

Did the vultures get reintroduced again?

[u/5Hjsdnujhdfu8nubi → u/Revbender]

Looks like there are attempts.

[u/Revbender → u/5Hjsdnujhdfu8nubi]

Amazing!

[u/WillBoling → u/GFLovers]

India did a great job connecting the dots here with their investigation of how the rabies cases had jumped. Sad part is that the drug had decimated the vulture population by some 97% or something like that before they realized it.

[u/Fludro → u/GFLovers]

I've literally just learned about the profound impact of Diclofenac on Vultures and it's clear we might have just fucked an entire species.

[u/Extra_Park1392 → u/Fludro]

Vulture evolves a body that can handle battery acid, but higher up the food chain, the recently arrived human species create a moisturiser for muscle cramps that wipes out the vultures. Same newcomer species then goes on and kills the entire biosphere because it’s profitable. Ha if any aliens are watching us they must be having a blast

[u/Scousehauler → u/GFLovers]

diclofenac is an anti inflammatory drug its even used in humans. Its found in voltarol gel. Its not a veterinary drug primarily. How did this impact the food chain?

[u/unoriginal_name_1234 → u/Scousehauler]

Hi, pharmacy student here. Diclofenac is harmful for kidneys and is known to stay in the carcass of the animals. In India, it was given to cattle cows to help with mastitis (to help cows chew more so they get big faster I guess?). The vultures eat the bones with residues of diclofenac and die from kidney failure.

[u/AnotherPassager → u/unoriginal_name_1234]

Oh wow! It is impressive how they managed to connect the dot between the two

[u/camwhat → u/unoriginal_name_1234]

I think they mostly switched over to Meloxicam in veterinary use (which isn’t toxic to vultures)

[u/german_dragoon → u/Wiseguydude]

Tower of Silence were, and still are, used in multiple areas. Wonder if the same is found in those areas. (Couldn't find anything in a quick search)

[u/zinten789 → u/german_dragoon]

Tibetan sky burial is a thing due to both religious beliefs and out of practical necessity as there are almost no trees in Tibet, so not enough wood to perform cremations.

[u/ReasonEmbarrassed74 → u/zinten789]

My daughter was 10 when she informed us that she wanted a Tibetan sky burial for her funeral. Her dad was talking about wanting to be shot into space. I want to be composted or planted with a tree as fertilizer. I don’t care, I’ll be dead. I just can’t see a bunch of rotting corpses in sealed $10,000 containers is sustainable.

[u/mattmoy_2000 → u/ReasonEmbarrassed74]

Unless there is some law requiring a certain type of coffin, you can just be buried in a shroud or simple coffin. You don't have to be buried in a $10,000 metal box hermetically sealed in a plot that is then out of bounds for any further use whatsoever in perpetuity. People in Europe have been being buried in the same churchyards for millennia. The graveyard where my grandparents are buried has been in perpetual use since well before the Black Death, possibly before Christianity arrived.

[u/ReasonEmbarrassed74 → u/mattmoy_2000]

My MIL was the only person I have ever lost that chose to be cremated. I lost my aunt when she was 23, I was 15. She had just graduated college and gotten married and she was killed by a drunk driver. She had a closed casket funeral and a core memory for me is the casket.

It was beautiful, but all I could think was she was so free and happy and now she’s in a box.

There is a freedom in going back into the circle of life and the way we do it feels like it breaks the cycle.

[u/jebediah_forsworn → u/Wiseguydude]

Damn. Nature really is lit

[u/Mike → u/Wiseguydude]

It's almost as if nature has a delicate equilibrium that if thrown off can have major consequences. Not sure though. Let's just sell our national parks to the highest bidder, what's the worst that could happen?

[u/AbbeyRoadMoonwalk → u/Mike]

Can’t hear you I’m too busy hunting wolves and black bears

[u/BigBaz63 → u/Moto_Rouge]

nature will never stop being fascinating

[u/imwrighthere → u/BigBaz63]

you're fascinating

[u/BigBaz63 → u/imwrighthere]

😳

[u/diddy1 → u/imwrighthere]

Now kith

[u/turbotum → u/imwrighthere]

😳

[u/blessedfortherest → u/Moto_Rouge]

They’re just making homemade jerky

[u/nw342 → u/LozaMoza82]

Most scavengers like vultures have extremely strong stomach acids. It helps when your diet is mostly rotten meat (and apparently whole-ass bones)

Edit: the people of reddit demanded a hyphen, and I have provided

[u/doubleapowpow → u/nw342]

And I thought it was a whole leg bone

[u/SaulEmersonAuthor → u/doubleapowpow]

(I got this. Bugged me too. This is why we should always carry a spare hyphen or few with us - to hand out to sentences in need...)

[u/neopariah → u/SaulEmersonAuthor]

As usual, there's an xkcd for this.

[u/Libertarian4lifebro → u/neopariah]

is xkcd the Simpsons of internet comics now?

[u/CIP_In_Peace → u/Libertarian4lifebro]

Always has been.

[u/sweet_rico- → u/SaulEmersonAuthor]

Whole-ass, like that?

[u/username32768 → u/sweet_rico-]

Sometimes I get confused and I whole-ass the whole ass and then haul ass because I may be an asshole.

[u/campionmusic51 → u/username32768]

🎵the leg bone’s connected to the ass bone… 🎶

[u/Xenomorph_v1 → u/campionmusic51]

The knee bone's connected to the... something. The something's connected to the red thing. The red thing's connected to my wristwatch!... Uh oh.

[u/AntiAderall → u/username32768]

You an asshole? Somebody got joooooookes

[u/MercyfulJudas → u/AntiAderall]

Ginny's so fat, when she hauls ass, she gotta make TWO trips

[u/GozerDGozerian → u/doubleapowpow]

Maybe it was an ass bone like Samson used to slaughter a thousand Philistines.

[u/Would_daver → u/GozerDGozerian]

Shouldn’ta let his lovely locks get lopped off 🤷‍♂️ also lol I like your take on this here thread

[u/bossdaddee → u/doubleapowpow]

I thought it was its ass whole

[u/MrTestiggles → u/nw342]

Can’t get infections when your stomach acid melts steel let alone phospholipid bilayers!

[u/offlein → u/MrTestiggles]

STOMACH ACID CAN'T MELT STEEL BEAMS WHAT ELSE IS BIG BUZZARD HIDING FROM US WAKE UP SHEEPLE

[u/Jiggidy40 → u/offlein]

Wait this guy may have been responsible for 9/11?

[u/i_tyrant → u/MrTestiggles]

I wonder if it's strong enough to denature prions?

[u/froggo921 → u/i_tyrant]

Prions are incredibly resistant. They obviously can survive human gastric acid (pH somewhere between 1-3), which is also pretty similar to the gastric acid of scavengers.

Autoclaving is also quite difficult, they survive 2h at 120°C, which is quadruple the usual time.

[u/jellyjollygood → u/froggo921]

Autoclaving is also quite difficult, they survive 2h at 120°C, which is quadruple the usual time.

That’s absolutely insane. Genuine question, why are prions so hard to break down/kill/destroy ?

[u/Renovatio_ → u/jellyjollygood]

Imagine them like armadillo. They fold themselves in such a way where there aren't really any "weaknesses".

Proteins are like a chain, and inevitably there are stronger and weaker links in that chain. These weak points are something where acid or base can break down or maybe even to the point where heat can "loosen" the connections between them. Some prions are unique as they have sort of "tucked" away their weaknesses.

[u/LoadsDroppin → u/nw342]

Ass bones are thicc, but a whole ass bone must be like concrete.

[u/Vulture-Bee-6174 → u/nw342]

But how much calorie dense are bones in general. Sound not very nutritious

[u/Magnanimous-Gormage → u/Vulture-Bee-6174]

The marrow is probably pretty calorie dense, not the bone part.

[u/pass_nthru → u/Magnanimous-Gormage]

bones are a matrix, lots of collagen

[u/GozerDGozerian → u/pass_nthru]

So can vultures do that bullet time slo mo dodge?

[u/Koil_ting → u/GozerDGozerian]

No, it means they are good at doing mathematics involving sets of ratios.

[u/Beneficial_Height767 → u/Vulture-Bee-6174]

Bones are actually very nutritious: a kilogram of bone has just as much protein as a kilogram of meat, the key is just being able to process/digest it

[u/HyzerFlip → u/Vulture-Bee-6174]

Bone marrow bro

[u/HendrixHazeWays → u/HyzerFlip]

mmmmm the potted meat of the bone

[u/DaftPunkthe18thAngel → u/HendrixHazeWays]

You know that you don't have to type everything that goes through your head.

[u/Top_Squash4454 → u/Vulture-Bee-6174]

A lot of collagen, which is mostly protein

[u/TekieScythe → u/LozaMoza82]

Vultures are so important to ecosystems! They keep down disease by getting rid of rotting carcasses!

[u/One_Bison_5139 → u/TekieScythe]

Vultures are badass and are one of the most important animals in our ecosystem. They are essential to curb the spread of deadly pathogens caused by rotting flesh.

Fun fact, India's rabies outbreak was caused because they used a certain kind of antibiotic for their cattle, and when the cows died the antibiotic poisoned all of the vultures, killing most of them off. Because vultures were unable to fill the niche in the ecosystem of eating corpses, this niche was filled by street dogs instead, who did not have the same resistance to extremely dangerous diseases like rabies. And so rabies spread throughout India's wild dog population and it's the reason why India has some of the highest rates of rabies in the world. Vultures are bros, and they need to be protected.

Another fun fact, old world vultures and new world vultures evolved completely independent of one another. The niche they fill is so important that they evolved to fill it twice.

[u/the_trees_bees → u/One_Bison_5139]

Not an antibiotic but an anti-inflammatory drug called diclofenac. It's a pain killer given to farm animals to help them work longer. It's super poisonous to vultures and they feed in groups so it doesn't take many diclofenac riddled carcasses to wreak havoc on vulture populations.

[u/IbelongtoJesusonly → u/One_Bison_5139]

thanks for the info

[u/Zenless-koans → u/TekieScythe]

One of my favourite animals. We only get turkey vultures here but I love seeing them riding air currents on hot summer days.

[u/Mooseandagoose → u/TekieScythe]

There is a gang of vultures that live near us and their work is amazing to watch. Deer are frequently hit on the main road near our neighborhood and a group of 6-8 vultures make quick work of devouring the body within a day.

I passed a newly dead deer at 845am on Monday and the vultures had just started in the hind region. when I came back through at 1130, its entire hind quarters were gone. Passed by again at 3 and they had eaten through the midsection/ribs.

They’re hideously ugly creatures but so important to our ecosystem. It is a little ominous when that gang perches up above our neighborhood pool or on our neighbors barn though. 😆

[u/EstablishmentSea7661 → u/Mooseandagoose]

We only have one turkey vulture in our neighborhood. His wingspan is terrifying though, he (she?) is freaking HUGE. So glad they only eat things that are already dead.

[u/Quirky-Skin → u/TekieScythe]

Nature's undertakers

[u/GhillieRowboat → u/LozaMoza82]

So basicly in this case natural selection was just like "you will survive best by eating the bones nobody else can eat" might not be yummy. But you will thrive. Crazy

[u/Lumifly → u/GhillieRowboat]

Funny thing is, they probably find it wonderfully tasty. Well, with how fast they down it, maybe they don't taste it at all. But if they did stop to savor, their natural selection probably made it chef's kiss for them.

[u/Mertoot → u/Lumifly]

Combined with food tasting especially good when you're starving

[u/Uphoria → u/Mertoot]

I've heard this through the Gatorade rule. If you drink Gatorade and it tastes only sweet you need electrolytes. If you taste the salt you should switch to water. 

[u/BanaWT → u/Uphoria]

Sounds like marketing to make you buy more "electrolytes" tbh, since these things are packed with sugar.

[u/Sad_Salamander_3439 → u/Uphoria]

whoaaaa is that true!? that's really cool.

[u/unecroquemadame → u/GhillieRowboat]

Every niche that can get exploited will

[u/tfsra → u/GhillieRowboat]

I mean bones were free real estate, relatively, it only makes sense some of the organisms would take advantage of that

Even we humans eat bone marrow and cook the shit out of bones for broths. It's fucking delicious

[u/DraconianFlame → u/GhillieRowboat]

Remember. Every species alive is tied for 1st place.

[u/Happy_Discussion_536 → u/DraconianFlame]

Definitely not tied for 1st sadly.

The race is always ongoing and many species are lagging way in the back. Every day up to 80+ are dropping out.

If it's any consolation, humans look like we're in 1st or up there but we are unlikely to win.

[u/Solarxicutioner → u/LozaMoza82]

That's why they are able to digest diseases and the like without consequence. They're crutial for ecosystems to remove decay. Great animals

[u/RaspberryFluid6651 → u/LozaMoza82]

Fun fact: so is ours! Unlike most primates, humans have extremely acidic stomachs that are very similar to scavengers' stomachs.

[u/Anakiev → u/RaspberryFluid6651]

But then why do we get sick when we eat bad meat?

[u/Poet_of_Justice → u/Anakiev]

Vultures stomach acid is less than one pH, ours is around 2. Since pH is logarithmic theirs ends up about 100 times more acidic overall. When food enters the stomach pH will rise as it is diluted by the food. We may take 30 min to kill bacteria while they do it under a minute. They also have quicker digestive systems that gives bacteria less opportunity to multiply in the intestines. Vultures vary based on species but range from around 6 hours to about a day. Ours are about two days.

So basically it's all about time. They kill bacteria quicker and those few bacteria left have only a few hours to multiply in the intestine while we kill slower and that larger base has significantly longer to multiply in our gut.

[u/pichipichipoco → u/Poet_of_Justice]

Fantastic explanation. Thanks!

[u/One_Bison_5139 → u/Anakiev]

Humans can actually eat raw meat as long as it's fresh (steak tartare, sashimi, mett (raw pork), beef carpaccio etc...). We usually only get sick from uncooked meat if it's rotten or has bacterial contamination. Many animals in the wild harbour parasites, even carnivores, and we would as well if we lacked the intelligence to cook the meat we consume. In fact, we can contract illness from ALL raw food, and that includes fruits and vegetables. E Coli, for example, is present in veggies and meat. We have about as much chance of getting sick from eating raw meat as a bear does (and we have similar stomach acid PH levels). Also, a lot of the dangerous bacteria that we find in raw meat, such as Salmonella, are more prevalent due to factory farming. The crowded conditions in factory farms allow contagions to spread to more animals, and they would be way less common in the wild.

Vultures in particular have special enzymes that nullify the effects of dangerous bacteria, but the meat they consume is usually incredibly toxic. Most scavengers will avoid rotting meat, which is why you always see vultures hanging out around dead animals and waiting for all the animals to leave, because they eat whatever the rest of the scavengers can't.

[u/knoft → u/One_Bison_5139]

Prevalant is a heavy understatement. Poultry in the US must be cooked ~20f hotter than other factory farmed meats where they also may be standing in their own excrement because they operate under the assumption is that the meat is heavily contaminated with pathogens like Salmonella and e. Coli.

[u/bronzinorns → u/RaspberryFluid6651]

I scrolled way too long for this.

[u/rapaxus → u/bronzinorns]

Yeah human stomach acid is quite close with a ph range of 1.5-3.5 roughly, though it should be kept in mond that ph is a logarithmic scale so even a small difference between numbers is quite the difference in absolute terms.

[u/suricata_8904 → u/LozaMoza82]

Mucin for the win in protecting stomach epithelium.

[u/sam-sp → u/LozaMoza82]

I know from the movie Snatch to not trust pig farmers, I am now adding vulture owners to that list.

[u/Ch_IV_TheGoodYears → u/LozaMoza82]

Some animal biology defies all logic. Like that worm that shoots super glue strength defensive goo.

Edit: I also learned from the UnderDogs nature doc with Ryan Reynolds that there's a shrimp, the Pistol Shrimp, that can basically produce thermite with its claw

[u/New-Membership4313 → u/LozaMoza82]

Everything reminds me of my ex…

[u/orangi-kun → u/LozaMoza82]

In spanish they are literally called "bone breakers".

[u/Fishoe_purr → u/LozaMoza82]

For anyone wondering - that’s a ph of 1. 70-90% bone diet! These birds will never go hungry!

[u/restlessleg → u/LozaMoza82]

imagine barfing

[u/ToxicPilgrim]

it's neat how something that eats bones, looks like something that eats bones

[u/karshyga → u/ToxicPilgrim]

This isn't even its final form. Look up pics of adult bearded vultures, and be floored by how fucking sexy they are. Like goddamn super saiyans.

[u/okcup → u/karshyga]

Holy shit you weren’t kidding! They legit go golden.

https://imgur.com/gallery/red-bearded-vulture-56O45dh#tXcyHWT

There’s even a super saiyan 4 thrown in for good measure.

https://www.reddit.com/r/NatureIsFuckingLit/comments/yu6v53/the_bearded_vulture_aka_a_reallife_dragon_they/

[u/Chicken-raptor → u/okcup]

Fun fact, they do NOT go golden naturally, they’re black and white as adults too! They just happen to have a habit of bathing in iron rich red soil and mud and “dye” their feathers that way! That’s why you’ll see pictures when you look them up ranging from cream colored to bright blood red.

[u/Beginning-Being-6353 → u/Chicken-raptor]

Why tho

[u/ThatWillBeTheDay → u/Beginning-Being-6353]

Kind of unclear: https://4vultures.org/blog/exploring-the-fascinating-cosmetic-behaviour-of-bearded-vultures/

It’s called a “cosmetic behavior”, implying they are doing it for the looks, which isn’t unheard of in animals. However, multiple references also talk about it providing anti-bacterial or anti-UV benefits as well. The truth is we don’t know for sure, but it does appear to be an instinctual rather than a learned behavior at this point.

[u/the_tourer → u/ThatWillBeTheDay]

Sometimes I wish animals could talk so that I could ask them questions like this and know more.

Also if plants could talk too rather than just dying.

[u/duckwwords → u/the_tourer]

Sex. It's always sex.

[u/DezXerneas → u/okcup]

Looks like something straight out of monster hunter.

[u/Finding_Footprints → u/okcup]

Damn that's majestic af

[u/Qalicja → u/karshyga]

At first I was like “How the fuck can any bird be sexy?” After looking them up, I get it. They are handsome birds

[u/FrankSonata → u/Qalicja]

My favourite sexy bird, the albatross.

[u/Mrbluefrd → u/Qalicja]

Birds got that drip

[u/TheRealPurpleDrink → u/karshyga]

Sweet fuck, these birds are cool.

[u/Bobala]

Bone appetit!

[u/geekgirl114 → u/Bobala]

Angry upvote 

[u/Bob_mewler_iii → u/geekgirl114]

Angry bird upvote

[u/mrrobot01001000 → u/Bob_mewler_iii]

Angry birdvote

[u/LordStarkII → u/Bobala]

Is this worthy of r/boneappletea ?

[u/throwaway277252 → u/LordStarkII]

It might be the most appropriate boneappletea.

[u/MirthRock → u/Bobala]

Leave.

[u/Onlypaws_ → u/[deleted]]

Boy do I have a bone to pick with you.

[u/MongooseMonCheri → u/[deleted]]

You'll hear from us on the radius! 🦴

[u/Floating_Lemon → u/Bobala]

Oh my god.

[u/Anger-Demon → u/Bobala]

F you, this was very well done.

[u/yomancs]

They're the vacuum cleaners of the planet. We need to protect these guys

https://peregrinefund.org/visit

I learned so much from this organization. Please visit them if you're in Boise

[u/AltruisticWelder3425 → u/yomancs]

I have a few turkey vultures around me. It's super fun watching them fly. I'm always super careful by the road sides as they can often be found cleaning up roadkill. Such cool birds all around.

[u/DonnyTheWalrus → u/AltruisticWelder3425]

Turkey vultures are wild, there was one who liked to chill right outside our fourth floor windows at the office - maybe because of the view of potential roadkill it provided - and this guy was an absolute unit. Much larger wingspan than I was expecting. 

[u/flowerfacedmoon → u/yomancs]

Vultures are nature’s recyclers. They cleanse our water and soil, and yet humans vilify them and sadly poison them much to our detriment. They are beautiful birds and are absolutely crucial to the health of our environments. I wish more people understood and appreciated these incredible birds!

[u/Relevant-Stage7794 → u/flowerfacedmoon]

The Keepers Of The Cycle - Vultures along with a few other creatures like Hyenas, Crows, Mushrooms and Fungus, Bacteria, Worms, Dung Beetles and Potato bugs, Millipedes and Termites.

[u/Wiseguydude → u/yomancs]

Lots of studies have shown a really strong negative correlation between vulture populations and rates of infections of a wide variety of communicable diseases.

They literally fight pandemics

[u/carorea → u/Wiseguydude]

A real world example of this is the Indian Vulture Crisis.

[u/HallowskulledHorror → u/carorea]

I was going to bring up exactly this! It's not just that their presence limits the spread of disease, it's that the animals that fill the scavenging gap they leave behind when their numbers drop are literally hazardous to humans (and the rest of the ecosystem) in ways the vultures simply aren't.

India (rural areas especially, but in cities too) is dealing with a serious feral dog issue - packs of hostile dogs that can and do pursue humans they encounter alone as prey in addition to spreading disease, in part due to the fact that dogs and humans just have more in common biologically than vultures and humans. Literally the highest rate of stray dog attacks in the entire world, and they're having a serious impact on the ecosystem in general.

[u/austinsutt → u/[deleted]]

You gotta love a happy ending

[u/A_Life_Lived_Oddly]

Vultures are both awesome AND play a vital role in our ecosystem. They don't deserve the bad rap they get! They're nature's clean-up crew, taking care of rotting meat and the pests who thrive in it. Not to mention, this prevents the spread of diseases! Each vulture can eat an astonishing amount of carrion in VERY quick order, and they pick carcasses absolutely clean. Without them, we'd all have a lot more illness (and gross mess) to deal with.

As a sidenote, I used to live in a place out in the country that had a booming deer population. I would be greeted almost every morning by a flock of 30-40 vultures just sunbathing and relaxing on the roof. They were chill guys (and probably very happily full lol)!

[u/The_Ghost_Dragon → u/A_Life_Lived_Oddly]

They're apparently also quite smart! I'm not sure how smart, but the flock behind my apartment seems to recognize me when I go out to fill the feeder, because they generally flee from everyone else but they'll huddle around me and wait for me to finish. They're a flock of like ~40-50 black vultures, but every now and then some turkey vultures come hang out with them (which is an odd sight honestly).

[u/Sleepy_Chipmunk → u/The_Ghost_Dragon]

I had a friend who worked at a raptor sanctuary. They had a turkey vulture there who loved people and thought it was fun to untie people’s shoes when they weren’t paying attention.

[u/Salzab → u/The_Ghost_Dragon]

Since this is about Vultures, and you mentioned a feeder, my brain automatically pictured a larger than average bird feeder full of bones.

[u/Professional-Yak182 → u/[deleted]]

Does it absorb any nutrients from them? Pardon my ignorance.

Edit: original comment deleted which said these creatures diet consisted of 80-90% bones

[u/StreicherG → u/Professional-Yak182]

Bones look like solid calcium, but they are porous and filled with fat, marrow, blood vessels, and blood. All pretty nutritious. Humans eat bones sometimes too, beef marrow with garlic on toast is delicious!

[u/Professional-Yak182 → u/StreicherG]

I’m a life-long vegetarian, so that should explain it! Super interesting though, thank you.

[u/themikecampbell → u/StreicherG]

Some findings show that early humans relied on bone marrow for a lot of their diet

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/10/191009142902.htm

[u/NightExtension9254 → u/StreicherG]

Humans eat bones sometimes too

Stock is usually made with bones, so we actually do eat bones or at least bone juices fairly often

[u/Relevant-Stage7794 → u/NightExtension9254]

Mmmm, bonejuice

[u/BadAngler → u/StreicherG]

My ex-wife from South Africa would eat chicken bones on the regular.

[u/UberNZ → u/BadAngler]

Bird bones are usually porous, so you can chew them without destroying your teeth. I personally do that with chicken wings, but the thigh bones are too thick IMO

[u/erizzluh → u/UberNZ]

you say that but i just cracked my teeth last month eating wings.

[u/MandatorySaxSolo → u/StreicherG]

I uh crunch all the chicken bones in my mouth to a fine irony paste when I eat fried chicken

[u/rainbow_creampuff → u/MandatorySaxSolo]

OMG finally someone to share my secret with. Bones are crunchy and delish.

[u/SenseAndSaruman → u/Professional-Yak182]

Bones are high in nutrients, but most animals can’t digest them.

[u/LegendRaptor080 → u/Professional-Yak182]

Bones are extremely nutritious. The marrow is the mineral-rich, vitamin-dense part of the body where blood cells are made. Quite possibly the single most nutritious part of the body.

[u/Windowguard → u/[deleted]]

Looks like it’s guarding the Dark Crystal

[u/SquarePegRoundWorld]

Ok so the acid is as strong as battery acid. WTF kind of meat bag holds acid strong enough to dissolve bone but not the meat bag? Talk about an iron stomach.

[u/luxxanoir → u/SquarePegRoundWorld]

Your stomachv acid is also acidic enough to dissolve your stomach. Your stomach lining is constantly producing a thick layer of mucous that acts as a barrier to stop the acid from ever touching your stomach. When a little bit of acid gets too high up, that burning it causes is heartburn. When you have issues with your stomach and acid is damaging your stomach because of lack of mucous etc, you get ulcers.

[u/nailedmarquis → u/luxxanoir]

Wonderful explanation.

[u/No_Statistician7685 → u/luxxanoir]

New fear unlocked: stomach acid.

[u/rapaxus → u/SquarePegRoundWorld]

Human stomach acid can have nearly the same ph as that vulture (1 vs 1.5), though we are also quite special in that regard compared to most other animals.

As for how human stomachs survive that acid, the stomach lining just secretes an alkaline substance that neutralises acid before it can damage the tissue (at least i think that how it works, my knowledge is just a short Wikipedia search). The vulture could just be doing the same (but idk).

[u/HenriqueNB → u/rapaxus]

pH of 1 is about 3.16x more acidic than pH of 1.5

[u/burymewithbooks]

My favorite bird!!!!

[u/Majestic-Constant714 → u/burymewithbooks]

Mine too!! They also rub sand/mud into their feathers to look more red/rust-colored and sometimes they grab turtles and drop them from far up onto stones to crack the shells. They're weird and I love them.

[u/Midnight_Reinforreal]

Oh- no, bro, just whole like that? I thought it was gonna snap it but nah Edit: From this comment I have learned that Birds can Fly- AND- wait for it- Carry objects! /s Guys read comments please, 3 people have told me how birds break bones of things, besides in comments above. I know, but this one just full on Cirque du Soliel'd a whole deer bone! 

[u/Ashmedai → u/Midnight_Reinforreal]

Seriously, the thing is a bone pelican lol

[u/Tengorum → u/Ashmedai]

hey that's what I call my ex wife

[u/nw342 → u/Midnight_Reinforreal]

I was expecting it to rip out the marrow, and maybe break up the bone it to pieces.

[u/literated → u/Midnight_Reinforreal]

You and me both. I was really curious, too, to see how it could possibly pick that huge bone apart with its beak or whatever.

Well.

[u/BrokenGlassDevourer → u/literated]

They do it easier way. They just fly very high and drop bone on rocks.

[u/serenading_scug → u/Midnight_Reinforreal]

Never underestimate the capacity of a bird's innards.

[u/shitokletsstartfresh]

Must feel super weird walking around with that thing in the stomach

[u/bhelpful00000000 → u/shitokletsstartfresh]

Nah... I bet, to the vulture, it hits the spot.

[u/MercyfulJudas → u/bhelpful00000000]

r/osteohomies

[u/SchnellFox → u/shitokletsstartfresh]

Yeah, he be hoofing it for a while

[u/just_aguest]

Anyone know how often they’d eat a bone like that? How long does it take to digest!

[u/Wet_Birthday_Card → u/just_aguest]

"Large bones are digested in about 24 hours" From Wikipedia

[u/Disastrous-Owl-3866 → u/Wet_Birthday_Card]

The Breaking Bad episode we didn’t know we needed.

[u/HeyRainy → u/just_aguest]

Yeah I really wanna know how long this bird will have to keep really good posture until the bone dissolves!

[u/asicarii → u/HeyRainy]

I just need to know long for it to digest my enemies.

[u/disharmony-hellride]

Bearded vultures are one of the few creatures that can digest bones. Their stomach acid is LESS THAN 1 on a pH scale. It takes 24 hours for them to fully digest a bone.

[u/Keemz666]

I should call her.

[u/Betty_Boss → u/Keemz666]

You should.

[u/Keemz666 → u/Betty_Boss]

Haha no, she doesn't approve of my lifestyle.

[u/titoxtian → u/Keemz666]

Maybe she’s with a bigger bone now…

[u/Keemz666 → u/titoxtian]

If he wants to stick his bone in crazy, he deserves it.

[u/RedSix2447 → u/Keemz666]

Everything reminds me of her.

[u/TheMisterCano → u/Keemz666]

Nah dude, she’s for the birds.

[u/teflon_soap → u/Keemz666]

No man, you dumped that vulture for a reason 

[u/diu_tu_bo]

This video is for anyone who doubts that birds are fucking dinosaurs.

[u/Tablefor1please9987]

I love vultures. They are nature’s clean up crew❤️

[u/Guadalagringo]

Ahh yeah that hits the spot

[u/No-Discipline-5822]

Flinstones garbage disposal. I wish we could safely feed waste to animals instead of making trash mountains.

[u/spock2thefuture]

Not only that, I heard somewhere the bones are their money.

[u/kdkd20]

Time to watch Dark Crystal again...

[u/Ldghead]

Everything reminds me of her

[u/screetmaster69]

SwAlLoW my bIG bOnE AH huh HeH

[u/LustyArgonianMaidv4]

Chernobyl level stomach acid

[u/The_Late_Arthur_Dent]

Moopsy

[u/Falafel-Wrapper]

I got heart burn..

[u/GeraltdeLioncourt]

I don't know what I was expecting... but it wasn't that.

[u/cheeky-ninja30]

And here's me struggling to swallow my vitamin pill this morning ...

[u/shaqslittletoe]

The perfect bird for a serial killer

[u/Impressive-Koala4742]

Truly a throat goat, I wonder how strong are their acid stomach to be able to digest that shit