Most of the time, people see scavenging as the cheap and lazy way of getting a meal; however, this lifestyle is much harder than it seems. Although scavengers don't need to waste energy taking down prey, they still need to find food which can take a lot of time, and even after discovering something to eat, scavengers still have to compete with each other over carcasses.
Because of how surprisingly competitive this role is, scavengers have had to evolve multiple tools to help them find, get to, and secure meals. There are seven different points which can be split into two classes to help determine how good species are at scavenging. These are metabolisms, locomotion, detection rate, carrion availability for the encounter rate group, food processing, competition, and facilitation for the handling time faction.
Although there are many animals which have evolved to primarily become very successful scavengers, this doesn't mean that they have a perfect balance between all seven aspects. In fact, it's much more common for species to lean more towards some features rather than others. Some species, like striped hyenas, do very well at ripping open and making the most of carcasses they find, but struggle at finding them before other scavengers. Meanwhile others, such as vultures, have an easy time discovering and getting to carrion, but have more difficulty protecting and getting to the insides of the bodies they uncover.
However, one scavenger genus has found something of a balanced between encounter rate and handling time. These are the globe traveling Wyverns known as Vomvanemopan klimakapouli.
Know worldwide as Bazelgeuse, a name which official records pronounce as Bah-Zel-Geese, though the pronunciation can vary greatly depending on where in the world you are, these True Wyverns are one of the planet's largest scavengers with a body length of 5 to 5.3 meters, a height of 1.8 and a gargantuan wingspan of 10 to 11 meters. Thanks to their massive size, these creatures have very few rivals when it comes to claiming carcasses.
Yet despite their immense bulky weight and the absence of hollow bones, these Wyverns are still capable of flight. Now it's perfectly natural to wonder how such an enormous and heavy creature can get off the ground, let alone fly. The answer to this question comes from the animals' forelimbs.
The forelimbs of Bazelgeuse are incredibly powerful, capable of lifting the goliaths off the ground; however this isn't done easily. Even though the True Wyverns are able to get airborne thanks to the length and musculature of each wing, it still takes some vigorous flapping to do so, costing a lot of energy. Because of this, these animals will typically try to jump off high places to save on energy while still taking to the air.
Although the initial take offs for these creatures can be arduous, once the Wyverns are in the skies, their way of locomotion becomes very efficient. Similarly to those of albatrosses, the wings of Bazelgeuse are long and thin, making them perfect for gliding. Unlike animals who use powered flight, gliders use warm updrafts and thermal air columns to stay in the sky and even rise higher, not wasting energy flapping their wings. Although soaring is usually slower than actively beating the forelimbs, this disadvantage doesn't really affect Bazelgeuse as their large size means they can cover more ground and move at speeds of 100 kilometers per hour, making it possible for them to complete transoceanic journeys in relatively short amounts of time. They can be found year-round on every continent except Antarctica, where the low temperatures only allow them to live on the continent's outermost islands during the summer.
Besides providing an energy efficient way of traveling over long distances, gliding gives Bazelgeuse an unobstructed view of the surrounding areas, allowing them to spot carcasses sooner than purely terrestrial scavengers. Because these animals typically fly at very high altitudes, it could be a challenge to find food, but the Wyverns have developed a phenomenally good eyesight with the species able to see 2-meter corpses at a distance of 8 kilometers.
Of course, finding food is only the first part of getting a meal. Once the True Wyverns arrive at carcasse, they still need to open it up. Unfortunately for them, this is the stage with which they struggle the most. Despite being powerfully built creatures, Bazelgeuse actually have weak jaws, making it harder for them to rip out chunks of meat. In addition to this, their feet aren't made for gripping, meaning that they must use their heavy body and the large claw on each of their wings to pin down food.
Under most circumstances, these limitations aren't too constrictive as most carcasses are small enough to be torn apart with enough persistence and the occasional violent head thrash to help rip the meal into more manageable pieces. However, when these Wyverns come across the carrion of truly massive creatures like Titanodracons and Gargantugons, the bodies of these goliaths are much harder to get into. Usually, Bazelgeuse will ignore the corpses of armoured animals as they're too difficult to open, and they'd waste most, if not all of the energy they gained from eating it.
However, the cadavers of giants are opportunities that are too good to miss. When coming upon these massive corpses, the True Wyverns will deploy hooked protrusions on their chin to help slice open the cadavers, as well as draw out flesh from any opening they might discover. But despite this useful appendage, Bazelgeuse are usually forced to wait for animals with the right equipment to come along and create entrances for them.
For most scavengers who aren't capable of ripping open corpses themselves, they typically need to wait until another species arrives and busts holes for them. This usually results in them not being the first ones to eat; however, when it comes to Bazelgeuse, this isn't a problem. The advantage of being so big and heavy is that the Wyverns don't have to wait their turn to feed. As soon as the carcasses are accessible, they'll use their sheer mass to bully adversaries off the cadaver. In addition to this, their armoured, bulbous neck and tail which normally act as counter balance when flying, protects them from possible counterattacks.
But if their opponents are very stubborn and refuse to back down, the Bazelgeuse will deploy one of their more unorthodox weapon. Just like the Raths, these animals gnaw on rocks to sharpen their teeth, leading to flakes of the stones getting stuck between their fangs. By rubbing their teeth, and consequently the shards that are jammed between them together to create sparks before then burping, the Wyverns can release a shotgun-like blast of flames from their maw, burning anything unlucky enough to be too close to the massive scavengers' head.
Although the size, strength, and fire blasts of Bazelgeuse makes them formidable opponents, sometimes even this isn't enough to dislodge other scavengers or the kill's original owners. In response to this, these True Wyverns have developed an ability that's sure to clear out any competition. The most iconic feature of these animals is their explosive scales. Ironically, despite what the name suggests, the pods that dangle from the animals' throat and tail aren't really scales. These growths actually start out as liquid called distilled blast fluid that has a similar molecular structure to nitroglycerin and is secreted by the True Wyverns' skin. As the liquid makes contact with air, it quickly hardens and takes on the recognizable teardrop shape, staying dormant until exposed to enough heat or struck with sufficient force. When ready to drop their explosive scales, Bazelgeuse will shake their body, dislodging the pods, making them rain down onto their targets in a carpet bombing effect.
Depending on the altitude at which the growths are knocked off the animals' body, they'll either explode on impact or hit the ground and stay dormant until something steps on them. These unexploded bombs can also be detonated by their owners in a unique way. Bazelgeuse have the ability to alter their metabolic rate, allowing them to do things like lower it to conserve energy when resting. These Wyverns can also increase their metabolism, thus increasing the amount of fluid they produce as well as raising their body temperature to surprisingly high levels. By activating this super heated mode, the animals can then simply land near the dormant pods, causing them to activate and explode, but not before the True Wyverns get out of range.
If Bazelgeuse activate their super heated mode in the air, their bombs will turn from blackish brown to orange as they become soft and simply fall off the body and explode no matter how far the drop is. This becomes the perfect weapon for the rare occasions where these Wyverns make their own kills, or when they find themselves in fights with creatures that are a real threat to their lives and may need to use risky point-blank explosions as a last ditch effort to escape. Despite the usefulness of this state, these living bombers can't keep this up for long as it costs a lot of energy and puts the users in danger of overheating if used in hot climates. Because these drawbacks have the potential to cause fatality under certain circumstances, Bazelgeuse only use this ability when absolutely necessary, or if they know they'll be guaranteed a large meal afterwards.
Although these explosive scales are already very devastating, these pale in comparison to the blasts caused by older individuals. Known as Seething Bazelgeuse, these are the old and highly experienced members of the species, and they have the scars and firepower to prove it.
As Bazelgeuse get older, their brown and gray body takes on a metallic blue coloration with orangish red lines between the gaps in their armour, while their explosive scales become a mixture of light purple and orange. This change in color is to both send a clear message to opponents that these individuals should be avoided, as well as making themselves more attractive towards potential mates. Besides their coloration, these older individuals look nearly identical to their younger counterparts. However, there are still plenty of changes when it comes to their abilities and behavior.
One of the biggest differences between Bazelgeuse and Seething Bazelgeuse is that the latter doesn't migrate as much, usually creating territories when they find areas that are suitable to them. Typically, these regions have high mortality rates of other species or a large number of predators which can provide them with food. It's unknown why half of all Seething Bazelgeuse abandon their nomadic lifestyle, but the most likely theory suggests that it simply has to do with age. It's believed that those who continue drifting from one area to the next are still in their prime, while the others are just too old to keep gliding for days on end.
Another big difference in behavior is that unlike their younger counterparts, these individuals get ninety-seven percent of their food through kleptoparasitism. This means that they let predators do all the work, before swooping down and stealing the kills for themselves. Normally, their sheer size and intimidating colors are enough to claim a kill as their own. However, if they should ever find themselves forced to fight, these kleptoparasites know just how to force the owners to leave.
Although Seething Bazelgeuse still secrete the fluid which creates the explosive scales, the liquid these old individuals produces is thicker, thus it takes more time for the pods to harden. This may seem like a disadvantage at first, but in reality the excess amount of distilled blast fluid makes their bombs more dangerous, as the ensuing explosion is doubled in size and power. This is signaled by the bubbling purple liquid on the capsules' surface which gets bigger as the countdown nears its end.
However, besides giving the blasts some extra oomph, the excess fluid also causes the pods to become very sticky. This not only means that they can throw bombs against objects, potentially cutting off escape routes, but if they get stuck to an organism, it's an almost guaranteed meal for the Seething Bazelgeuse. In fact, most of the kills these old-timers make themselves are as a result of their adversaries getting explosive scales stuck to them, before getting blown open in a burst of heat, liquid, and blood.
But what's arguably the scariest aspect of these pods isn't there power or sticky abilities, but rather the control their owners have over them. Unlike Bazelgeuse who drop their explosive scales all over the place with little to no precision, Seething Bazelgeuse aim when they launch their bombs, typically placing them down in strategic positions to limit the movement options of their opponents, showing off just how experienced these elders are.
Despite being incredibly powerful and effective weapons, theses sticky bombs are in fact a danger to the Seething Bazelgeuse. As the Wyverns get older, they begin losing control over the amount of fluid they produce and could waste a lot of energy if they use it for extended periods of time. Because of the risk this poses to them, Seething Bazelgeuse will only ever use these exploding projectiles when needed. Instead, they prefer to use their size to beat up adversaries with headbutting, tail slams, charges, or even coming down from the sky and crash landings into their targets.
Although Bazelgeuse are also known to be quite the brawlers on the ground, their skills aren't as impressive as those of their older variants. Unfortunately for them, this significant lack of experience can cause the True Wyverns to take some unreasonable risk. One of the most common thing said about Bazelgeuse is that they're obsessed with picking fights; however, this isn't exactly correct. Although it is true that these creatures do seem to get into a lot of battles, this isn't because they want to brawl with something, but rather that they arrive at a fight or hunt that's already in process, believing that there'll be corpses to feed on. Unfortunately for them, this impatience usually end up with them getting dragged into the mayhem.
Meanwhile, older and much more experienced Seething Bazelgeuse know that just because there's a fight or a hunt that is going on, it doesn't mean that there will be food to steal. Because of their knowledge and patience, these individuals are actually more likely to secure meals than their younger counterparts.
However, one thing that doesn't change between Bazelgeuse and Seething Bazelgeuse is the impact they've had on human culture. Unsurprisingly, since these animals are found all over the globe, many civilizations have seen and incorporated the nomadic Wyverns into their stories and cultures.
One story from the Kwakwaka'wakw Native Americans of the Pacific Northwest tells of a particularly large Bazelgeuse who kept all the food in the world for itself. Every time someone would come and beg the beast to share its resources, the giant Wyvern would devour them. This cycle continued until one day, U'melth the raven decided to try his luck. He flew to the titan's house in order to ask it to share its food with the rest of the world. However the bird knew what happened to those who came before him, and so, he devised a cunning plan to steal the meals. In the dead of night, U'melth found a log and disguised it as an enormous delicious fish. He then made a fire inside of it before going and waking up the Bazelgeuse.
When the Wyvern awoke, it was furious and demanded to know why the raven disturbed its slumber. U'melth then told the Bazelgeuse about the huge fish that was right outside its house and asked if he could have it since it wasn't inside its abode. Just as U'melth suspected, the beast immediately rushed out and swallowed the disguised log, as well as the fire within it, whole to keep it for itself. However, as soon as it finished, the Bazelgeuse roared in pain as the flames it had devoured burned its insides and caused its scales to drop. Quickly the raven flew to it and told it to go to the lake and drink as much as possible to get rid of the pain. As the Bazelgeuse flew off, U'melth stole all the food inside the Wyvern's house and gave it to the rest of the world.
This trickster story may tell of how food came to be, but it also tells of why Bazelgeuse have exploding projectiles. Many cultures in the old world also have these Wyverns appear in their own mythology.
One of these civilizations was the Greeks who had quite a few of these Wyverns in their mythology, such as the one who supposedly came by everyday to feast on Prometheus's liver as punishment for stealing fire for humanity, though that role can also be filled by a vulture or eagle depending on the version that is recounted. Arguably the most well known is Barazel, the creator of stars and the first Bazelgeuse in all of creation. According to one of the stories, Barazel sprung forth from Ouranons, the sky, after the titan Kronos injured him. After his unorthodox birth, the celestial creature began dropping his blasting scales everywhere, creating the stars in the process.
Barazel reappears many times in Greek mythology, usually tasked by Zeus to create constellations of deceased characters in the skies, though apparently this is something the Wyvern hates doing. This becomes very obvious when he's forced to place Orion, the scorpion which killed the hunter, and possibly the Pleiades in the heavens, all in the same day. Apparently this very busy day was the tipping point for Barazel, as he supposedly flew into a rage once his job was complete, throwing his explosive scales and stars down from the heavens. Luckily for the Earth, Artemis and her hunting companions, the Deviljhos Thirio and Agrios, managed to injure the enraged Wyvern, forcing him to flee, drop his pods which all became other Bazelgeuse, and perch on Orion's left shoulder.
Not only does this part of the myth attempt to explains meteor showers and the origin of these living bombers, but it's likely also where the name Bazelgeuse came from. Another interesting fact about this story is that the star which represents Orion's left shoulder was named Betelgeuse, in reference to Barazel who supposedly sits on that part of the constellation. Funny enough, Betelgeuse is a red super giant which is supposed to explode into a supernova relatively soon, unintentionally drawing parallels to the Bazelgeuse. As if this wasn't enough of a coincidence, Betelgeuse is also the name of a French nuclear weapons test that happened in 1966 at the Moruroa Atoll.
Further solidifying the species' contention with human weapons of mass destruction, it seems likely that the Bazelgeuse were the inspiration for bomber planes such as the Avro Lancaster or Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress. In addition to this, the iconic call of these True Wyverns sounds very similar to air raid sirens, though this is likely just a coincidence rather than people trying to mimic the sounds these animals make.
For all their destructive potential, Bazelgeuse have ironically inspired us to create things whether they be stories or machines. However not all relationships with these animals are so amiable.
Despite being in the least concerned category due to their wide ranging habitats and low conflict rates with humans, many different parts of the world have seen Bazelgeuse avoid or flat out disappear from these areas. The reason for the Wyverns vanishing has to do with factors such as the loss of habitats and nesting grounds or persecution by people. In addition to this, Bazelgeuse and other scavengers are purposefully being poisoned by poachers who kill them in order to not have the animals alert rangers to their crimes. Even in the air, the Wyverns aren't safe. Though extremely rare, they have been known to collide with planes, resulting in both parties being destroyed, due to the blasting scales erupting from the force of the impact.
However, there are things we can do to help make life easier for these living bombers. Through setting aside areas that can act as nesting grounds and pit stops for the Bazelgeuse, banning the use of poisonous chemicals, supporting anti-poaching organizations, spreading awareness about the species' importance, and developing technology to eliminate midair collisions, you can aid these amazing Wyverns.
======================================
Scavengers are usually seen as dirty and lazy, but filling such a role is actually very hard. In their case, it's difficult to get food and eat it without being bothered by competitors. Because of this, some species like Bazelgeuse have had to get creative.
With powerful bodies, defining calls, amazing vision, an energy efficient way of traveling, and some of the most extreme tools in the animal kingdom, the Bazelgeuse may be the closest thing to the perfect scavenger species. These abilities and tactics have made these Wyverns so successful that they can be found on every single continent.
These True Wyverns haven't only made their mark on the natural world though. Their unbelievable tools and bizarre body plan have ensured their position in human culture. Appearing in folklore and popular media, inspiring many inventions, and even influencing the name of a star, no matter how much their feeding habits might disgust us, it's clear that Bazelgeuse have won our affection, and this is something other scavengers deserve.
Every species that cleans up the carcasses of the dead is very important as it keeps the ecosystems in good condition by removing dangerous bacteria, such as the dreaded rabies virus. The jobs of Bazelgeuse and other scavengers may be dirty, but they're essential to the survival of every living thing whether it be plant, animal, or human. So next time you see something feasting on corpses, thank them for keeping you and the world healthy.