> >Question to biologists - is it usual for a scavenger to be poisonous? Are > >there even any examples? I thought that was a feature of predators. Maybe > >the scavenger bit is more a sideline that Vlad emphasizes for ribbing. > > > > There are only two examples I can think of: the Komodo dragon and > related lizards (monitors and the like)--and a single bird who's name > escapes me. > > > of course dragons and monitor lizards aren't actually > poisonous--there teeth just harbor a dizzying array of bacteria--so > much so that a bite from either is frequently fatal, even though the > wound itself is very minor. Victims die of sepsis. I worked with > monitors, and the list of vaccinations needed if your were bitten was > upwards of 27. > > > Evolutionarily speaking, there is no reason for a scavenger to be > poisonous, as there food is already dead. > What about for defensive purposes as well as competion for food? Not being a biologist of any sort, it still seems to me that an animal who can poison other animals has a powerful defense mechanism, and in addition, being able to drive off other perhaps larger scavangers would allow the animal to have a better supply of food. Akodo Bob -who is not a scientist so is probally talking out of his own rear end.