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1. Mummified carcass of a topi (Damaliscus lunatus), three months after death, East Lake Turkana, Kenya. The carcass dried, with little consumption by vertebrate scavengers, within a week after death. Dried skin, muscle, and connective tissues kept the carcass segments from disarticulating and dissociating for nearly six months before heavy rains soaked the carcass and rendered it attractive to both invertebrate and vertebrate scavengers. Consumption of soft tissues, disarticulation and scattering took place within a day of the first heavy rain. Photo D. Gifford-Gonzalez. |
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2. Plot of a mummified carcass of a common zebra (Equus burchelli) killed and partially consumed by a lion, mapped within two weeks of death, October, 1973, East Lake Turkana, Kenya.. With the exception of leg elements, the body segments were articulated or held close to original points of articulation by dried skin. Concentric circles denote diameters of three and ten meters for datum purposes. Field plot D. Gifford-Gonzalez. |
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3. Plot of the same common zebra (Equus burchelli) carcass, East Lake Turkana, Kenya, after a spate of disarticulation following the first heavy rains, April, 1974. Skin and other soft tissues were consumed by invertebrate and vertebrate scavengers within a few days. Tracks of black-backed jackal (Canis mesomelas) and spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta) were observed around the carcass. Main axial segments were dragged southwest of original location. Field plot D. Gifford-Gonzalez. |
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4. Plot of the same common zebra (Equus burchelli) carcass, East Lake Turkana, Kenya, after the end of the rainy season, August, 1974. Bones remain in much the same disposition, but further dissociation of body segments has occurred. Field plot D. Gifford-Gonzalez. |
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