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Every year, numerous reports surface of animals consuming human bodies. It's not merely a tale that pets are sometimes left to feed on their deceased owners' decaying remains after a tragedy. At times, there are unsettling cases of infestations in what should be controlled environments like hospitals and morgues. On other occasions, wild animals scavenge human corpses. In rare cases, those who feast on the dead are even encouraged to do so. It may shock our sense of human dignity, but ultimately, flesh is just flesh.
10. Corpse-Eating Rats
On July 18, 2014, Doris Kennard was awarded a $237,000 settlement for the emotional trauma caused by rats consuming corpses at Providence Hospital in Washington, DC. Tasked with cleaning the deceased, Kennard encountered rodents driven mad by hunger, chewing through body bags and burrowing into the cadavers' private areas. In 2010, she was hospitalized after being attacked by rats following the mistaken belief that she had pulled a string from a feminine care product in the deceased's vagina. Malfunctioning coolers had drawn nearby vermin attracted to the stench of death.
Providence Hospital's lawyer, Hugh Farrell, responded: "We strongly disagree with the decision and plan to appeal." Despite this, evidence supports Kennard’s claim that the hospital had concealed rodent issues for years by falsifying reports. In January 2014, a customer discovered rodent droppings in a bag of chewed food at the hospital gift shop. Kennard had filed the lawsuit in 2012, and Providence Hospital’s request for a mistrial was denied.
9. Flesh-Eating Creatures of the Ganges
India’s Ganges River is plagued by a grave issue. In Hindu tradition, salvation is achieved through cremation on the sacred river’s banks. However, many bodies are not fully cremated before being released into the water. Those who cannot afford the expense of cremation are discarded whole. Every day, hundreds of human corpses, along with 50 tons of cremation ash, are dumped into the Ganges. In 1980, the Indian government took action against the “necrotic pollution” problem by introducing corpse-eating turtles.
The Indian government invested $32 million to release 25,000 soft-shelled Trionyx gangeticus, a species of terrapin known for raiding cremation pyres. These turtles were fed a diet of dead fish to ensure they wouldn’t develop a taste for the living. A group of 10 turtles could consume a human body down to the bones within two days. Unfortunately, poor management and corruption doomed the initiative. With no supervision, the turtles were poached to extinction. The Ganges’ corpse dilemma continues.
8. The Nightmare of Dog Hoarding
In November 2015, authorities in Arkansas uncovered a disturbing sight—a pack of nearly 50 dogs, ravenous and guarding their meal: the remains of their deceased owner. Deputies were unable to approach the trailer due to the aggressive pack. Animal control officer Reta Tharpe was forced to shoot nine dogs before reaching the 65-year-old woman’s body. She had died from hepatitis C. With few options, the 46 dogs were left with only one available food source: her remains.
The woman had a history of dog hoarding and had faced legal issues in the past. When authorities discovered she was debilitated by hepatitis, the county decided to remove the dogs. Tharpe noted that the true danger emerged when the dogs began roaming into neighboring yards. Both a veterinarian and Tharpe worked relentlessly to either save or euthanize the animals. Ultimately, 27 dogs had to be put down. Dogs continue to roam the area near the trailer on Oyler Road in Van Buren County.
7. Corpse-Feeding Alligators
In May 2016, Florida law enforcement discovered a gruesome scene—two alligators feeding on a corpse at the edge of the Everglades. A fisherman tipped off authorities about the grisly discovery in a canal west of US 27 in Broward County. The remains “appeared to have been in the water for some time,” and investigators initially struggled to determine the victim's gender. The pair of alligators, one large and one small, had consumed the body’s midsection. As Davie Police Captain David Engle stated, “We are treating this as a homicide until proven otherwise.”
The body was extracted from the canal around 10:00 PM. A dive team was dispatched, and officers stationed along the bank, armed with AR-15s, prepared to take down the lingering alligators. A spokesperson from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission mentioned that it was too early to determine if the alligators were killers or simply scavenging. If a reptile was found responsible, authorities would need to track down the man-eater.
6. The Paraplegic Living Corpse
On December 30, 2015, authorities made a horrifying discovery—a neglected paraplegic man had become a maggot-infested living corpse. Concord police responded to a report of a 36-year-old man having trouble breathing. When they arrived at the scene, they found Mark Fulgham lying on a soiled mattress, surrounded by cockroaches, dead flies wedged in the ceiling, and the overpowering stench of rotting flesh. Authorities called the apartment uninhabitable. The man could not speak or breathe, and maggots crawled through his bedsores. He later passed away in the hospital.
The man’s wife, Dormanicia Lawson, 37, was charged with homicide, neglect, and child abuse. Authorities described the case as one of the most severe instances of abuse they had encountered. Lawson lived with her paraplegic husband, their 11-year-old child, and their 19-year-old son, who had severe autism. Lawson offered no explanation other than being “tired and stressed.” In 2016, she was sentenced to four years in prison.
5. A Meal of Veal
In August 2013, police discovered that a British woman’s cats had gnawed on her body after it had gone undiscovered for weeks. Neighbors had alerted authorities when they noticed Janet Veal’s overflowing mailbox. Police entered through an unsecured second-floor window using a ladder. Inside, they found a squalid, stale home filled with garbage. Among the deceased animals were at least one cat and a dog, along with several live cats. They found the partially consumed body of 56-year-old Veal in the kitchen.
Coroner Keith Wiseman remarked, “It was clear that certain parts of Mrs. Veal’s body were missing.” Her remains had decomposed significantly, making it initially difficult to determine the cause of death. Pathologist Dr. Vipul Foria speculated that her death was likely due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Veal had been living apart from her husband for over a year and had been described as a “recluse.”
4. Poacher’s Poetic Justice
In 2015, British tourists on a sunset cruise along the Zambezi River received a shocking sight when they witnessed a crocodile consuming a corpse. Initially, their guide assumed the crocodile was feeding on an animal and drew attention to the scene. One witness recalled, “All there was to see of him were his trousers.” Authorities could not recover any remains of the man, and no one from nearby communities was reported missing. However, theories about his identity have circulated.
Trevor Lane of the Bhejane Trust, a Zimbabwean conservation group, states, “We strongly suspect this man was a poacher.” Two days earlier, rangers had ambushed a group of 13 Zambian poachers. A shootout ensued, resulting in one man’s death. Rangers reported that only nine poachers managed to cross the river. Three remain missing. The victim may have been wounded in the shootout—or perhaps not. Attacks by crocodiles are common along the Zambezi.
3. Man-Eating Terriers
In January 2015, a Jack Russell Terrier and a Staffordshire Bull Terrier consumed the remains of their owner after she died from an overdose. Noelle Baynham, a former jeweler from Hampshire, was 61 years old when she fell on her way to the bathroom. Her dogs, left unfed for several days, resorted to consuming her. A friend, Grant Donovan, stopped by to check on her when no one answered the door. Upon entering through an open backdoor, he described the scene as “the most horrifying thing I’ve ever seen” and immediately called authorities.
The coroner’s report indicated that Baynham’s death was caused by a mixture of painkillers that led to a stroke. The terriers consumed most of her internal organs, initially making it hard to determine the exact cause of death. Dr. Amanda Jefferies, the pathologist, confirmed that there was enough evidence to rule out homicide. Marks on Baynham’s chest suggested that the dogs tried unsuccessfully to rouse her. Both dogs were eventually put down.
2. Tiger Shark Surprise
In November 2014, a Filipino fisherman named Bodoy Gorgod, 48, caught a tiger shark with a half-digested human head in its stomach while fishing between Camiguin and Bohol islands. Disturbed by the gruesome find, he discarded the shark, keeping only its jaws and fins. Based on the shark’s teeth, Jake Miranda, an expert diver from the Surigao Dive Club, estimated that the creature could have been 12 feet long and weighed up to 660 kilograms.
The identity of the deceased remains a mystery. Some believe he could be one of the missing passengers from the ill-fated M/V Maharlika 2 ferry, which sank in September. Two male passengers have still not been accounted for. Perry Santillana, a fisherman’s wife, insists they dispose of the shark’s jaw, fearing that the spirit of the deceased man will haunt them during the night. The Philippines has banned the fishing of five endangered shark species, though the tiger shark is not one of them.
1. Communication Breakdown
In December 2016, a pack of stray dogs consumed the remains of a female tourist outside the post-mortem room at Bihar Hospital in India. Authorities reported that Pema Choden, 53, had been struck by a speeding truck in Begusarai. The following day, a group of wild dogs was seen feeding on parts of the body of the Bhutanese woman. At the time of her death, Choden had been traveling to Bodh Gaya to attend a festival with the Dalai Lama.
The body was sent to the hospital for a post-mortem, but what happened afterward is a matter of dispute. Police claim that the health officials left the body outside the post-mortem room, where stray dogs consumed parts of it. District civil surgeon Harinarain Singh, however, placed the blame on the police, accusing them of failing to notify him about the arrival of the body and carelessly leaving Choden’s remains exposed outside the post-mortem room.
