8 Bone Eating Animals

Bones are hard to digest and can be downright dangerous to eat, but some animals have evolved pretty bizarre adaptations to accommodate their crunchy, splintery diets.

Hosted by: Michael Aranda

SciShow has a spinoff podcast! It's called SciShow Tangents. Check it out at http://www.scishowtangents.org
----------
Support SciShow by becoming a patron on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/scishow
----------
Huge thanks go to the following Patreon supporters for helping us keep SciShow free for everyone forever:

Silas Emrys, Jb Taishoff, Bd_Tmprd, Harrison Mills, Jeffrey Mckishen, James Knight, Christoph Schwanke, Jacob, Matt Curls, Sam Buck, Christopher R Boucher, Eric Jensen, Lehel Kovacs, Adam Brainard, Greg, Ash, Sam Lutfi, Piya Shedden, KatieMarie Magnone, Scott Satovsky Jr, charles george, Alex Hackman, Chris Peters, Kevin Bealer
----------
Looking for SciShow elsewhere on the internet?
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/scishow
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/scishow
Tumblr: http://scishow.tumblr.com
Instagram: http://instagram.com/thescishow
----------
Sources:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1358032/pdf/annsurg00170-0087.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3856294/
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2017/08/giraffe-wildebeest-bone-eating-throwing/
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305440313002070
https://www.academia.edu/17458304/Osteophagia_and_dental_wear_in_herbivores_actualistic_data_and_archaeological_evidence
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10344-017-1095-4
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/bies.950040112
https://bit.ly/39a7BXE
https://www.audubon.org/news/what-owl-pellet
https://books.google.com/books?id=jyEahxSFAKkC
https://www.jstor.org/stable/20094938
http://manatipr.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/6.-PelicanMedicine.pdf
https://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/jrr/v028n02/p00073-p00078.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4730124/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6525594/
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228788046_Iron_oxides_in_the_plumage_of_bearded_vultures_Medicine_or_cosmetics
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-08812-2
https://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/jrr/v028n02/p00073-p00078.pdf
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/225406543_Bearded_Vultures_Gypaetus_barbatus_prefer_fatty_bones
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969720323536
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5963924/
http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.529.7483
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/227786379_Of_arcs_and_vaults_The_biomechanics_of_bone-cracking_in_spotted_hyenas_Crocuta_crocuta
http://facstaff.susqu.edu/p/persons/hyena.htm
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780080453378000310
https://arathusa.co.za/the-little-five-leopard-tortoise/
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/232662762_Osteophagy_by_the_desert_tortoise_Gopherus_agassizii
https://www.mbari.org/bone-eating-worms/
https://ocean.si.edu/ocean-life/invertebrates/zombie-worms-crave-bone
https://www.cell.com/current-biology/pdf/S0960-9822(16)30595-4.pdf
https://www.nature.com/scitable/blog/accumulating-glitches/for_boneeating_worms_smaller_is/
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/eaters-of-the-dinosaur-dead-45672019/
https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2008/05/blame-it-beetles
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/282856984_The_earliest_fossil_evidence_of_bone_boring_by_terrestrial_invertebrates_examples_from_China_and_South_Africa

Images:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Masai_Giraffe_(Giraffa_camelopardalis_tippelskirchi)_eating_bones_(8290751405).jpg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bartgeier_Gypaetus_barbatus_front_Richard_Bartz.jpg
https://www.flickr.com/photos/31867959@N04/6645883349
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Crocuta_crocuta_02_MWNH_249.jpg
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/39823623
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/325299417_First_bone-cracking_dog_coprolites_provide_new_insight_into_bone_consumption_in_Borophagus_and_their_unique_ecological_niche
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/59025315
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/3018335
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/38776917
https://bmcbiol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1741-7007-7-74#Sec4
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:MBNMS_Whale_Fall_at_Davidson_Seamount_(49639154888).jpg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Osedax_lehmani_(10.11646-zootaxa.4377.4.1)_Figure_14.png
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Osedax_ryderi_(10.11646-zootaxa.4377.4.1)_Figure_8.png
https://www.eurekalert.org/multimedia/pub/45160.php?from=215975
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=51613673
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-08/bc-tso081012.php
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/27611109