Scavengers
Scavengers are a very important part of the rainforest, what they do is they eat the decaying (dead) animals. That is a good thing because then it will not rot and smell and it will get absorbed into the ground. That would be bad for the plants. Then once the plants die, herbivores would die out. The detritus food chain is made of scavengers and carnivores(the basic meat-eaters.). Here are some examples of scavengers:

"King Vulture" Sarcoramphus papa
Photo courtesy/copyright Ralf Schmode
Name: King Vulture
Description: The King Vulture looks like white, black on the body,red and yellow in the face and white and grey on the feet.
Habitat: They live in dense tropical rainforests in Central and South America.
Diet: The King Vulture eats dead animals. It does not usually kill it's food.
Name: The American Cockroach
Description: Normally are flat, black and white.
Habitat: They live in the bottom of the rainforest
Diet: The Cockroach eats decaying (died) animals.
)

photo courtesy of
Amazon Adventure
By: Keri Woodbury
{Home Page} {Producers} {Food Webs} {Herbivores}
{Carnivores} {Omnivores} {Scavengers} {Conservation}
<<<Return to Student Web Sites