Taphonomy story of a modern African elephant Loxodonta africana carcass on a lakeshore in Zambia (Africa)

A modern African elephant carcass was monitored taphonomically on a shallow lakeshore during dry and wet seasons of 2010–2011. The young adult female died on the lakeshore during the hot dry season of early October 2010. African lions were first to scavenge on the carcass, feeding on the intestines and inner organs that were accessed through the anus. Spotted hyenas also scavenged on the fresh carcass, with an emphasis on the feet and leg bones; one foot was scavenged with the toes eaten and metapodials half chewed. In addition, hyenas chewed on exposed leg bones resulting in bite mark damages in the softer bone spongiosa and bite scratches on one humerus joint. Following an initial scavenging phase by large and small carnivores where the fresh meat and softer material was eaten and the majority of the bone damage occurred, the desiccated remains were abandoned on the lakeshore as a more or less intact carcass with the thick hide covering the mostly articulated skeletal elements. The carcass was briefly revisited and secondarily scavenged by hyenas in mid-November 2010 when the first rains softened the remains. During the seasonal flood from December 2010 through May 2011, the carcass was submerged. By the beginning of the following dry season in June 2011, the remaining skeletal material lay scattered over an area of 20 × 25 m. The main concentration of bones, however, including most of the larger bones and two articulated sections of the vertebral column, remained within a 10 × 10 m area where the carcass had last been scavenged. Although the elephant died of natural causes, the skull was damaged on Day 2 post-mortem when wildlife authorities removed the single tusk. In late September 2011, nearly one year post-mortem, no additional bone damage attributable to scavenging by large predators could be found, although some of the smaller bones were missing. Following the scavenging period, environmental factors e.g., flooding, temperature and humidity changes resulted in additional carcass scattering and damage, including cracks and flaking in some bones.