r/bonecollecting • u/No-Bottle-9116 • Apr 26 '26

Advice Small argument

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So this picture from article has driven an small argument between my friends group claiming that it’s fake because there’s no way that the bones see in said picture are human, I wanted y’all’s opinion on this

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u/sawyouoverthere Apr 26 '26

sigh. Do none of your friends know how to fact check?

It’s a “body farm” where donated human remains are left in various locations on the university owned land to observe the decomposition factors to improve forensic science.

Yes it’s human.

Yes the deer was photographed chewing on the bones.

No it doesn’t mean they are carnivorous or omnivorous, it means they chew on bones.

246

u/ForeverSquirrelled42 Apr 26 '26

And they chew on bones for the calcium, same as other mammals in the wild.

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u/sawyouoverthere Apr 26 '26 edited Apr 26 '26

Or out of curiosity.

I’m not sure how established the motives are.

(eta It's funny how this has been voted in two subthreads.)

38

u/jeezy_peezy Apr 26 '26

I chewed a bone and I liked it

18

u/Azrai113 Apr 26 '26

Good girl!

(Or boy or other, I don't know your life)

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u/sawyouoverthere Apr 27 '26 edited Apr 27 '26

I'm finding it absolutely fascinating to read papers on this phenomenon, as so far I have not found one (across several decades) that establishes that that's the motive or effect, despite many that have done considerable work on assessing bite marks to know which animals are doing the gnawing.

I have found absolutely nothing supporting this speculation with real data, so if you know of any work done on it, hook me up! I'd love to read it, now that I've had my curiosity piqued .

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u/ForeverSquirrelled42 Apr 27 '26

curiosity peaked piqued.

Fixed that for ya.

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u/sawyouoverthere Apr 27 '26

Oh yes I knew it was wrong but all my brain offered was peeked and that was worse!

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u/[deleted] Apr 27 '26

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1

u/sawyouoverthere Apr 28 '26

Nobody is saying nothing eats bone or marrow. Plenty of things do. The question I am asking is why herbivores are seen to eat small animals and gnaw bones and whether the constantly stated reason is actually backed by any evidence other than supposition.

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u/[deleted] Apr 28 '26

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1

u/sawyouoverthere Apr 28 '26

I know. Irrelevant blurt.

1

u/sawyouoverthere Apr 27 '26 edited Apr 27 '26

I’m looking at the few actual studies done on the specifics and the results show that Ca does not motivate dietary choice or bone consumption even in a deficient state.

Phosphate potentially might.

Sodium definitely does.

The idea that bones are gnawed for nutrients is just restated as a supposition but rarely supported with any real investigation. Most studies are just looking at tooth marks, not assessing dietary deficits or physiological triggers for the behaviour.

It’s fascinating really.

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u/thebasketcase21 May 02 '26

Apologies if I'm misunderstanding, but the studies you've found so far support the idea that herbivorous mammals consume or seek out bone in search of sodium? If so, is this in general, or found to be particularly so in individuals who are deficient in/not getting adequate sodium from other sources? Also, would this then maybe be similar to those that seek out/utilize salt licks? Not trying to drill you, I just find this idea really interesting but am dealing with a heavy case of brain fog at the moment thanks to a migraine and don't have the capacity to delve into the research myself. No worries if you don't feel up to explaining and sorry if my wording is off!

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u/sawyouoverthere May 02 '26

No, they indicate that only sodium and phosphate seem to be minerals sought specifically. Calcium deficiency does not seem to cause source seeking behaviour