Premium
Specific Patterns of Canine Scavenging in Indoor Settings
Author(s) -
Colard Thomas,
Delannoy Yann,
Naji Stephan,
Gosset Didier,
Hartnett Kristen,
Bécart Anne
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
journal of forensic sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.715
H-Index - 96
eISSN - 1556-4029
pISSN - 0022-1198
DOI - 10.1111/1556-4029.12684
Subject(s) - scavenging , trunk , medicine , taphonomy , head and neck , nose , surgery , biology , ecology , biochemistry , antioxidant
Postmortem animal mutilations due to domestic dogs in isolated domestic deaths are taphonomic modifications regularly observed by forensic pathologists. They are rarely described in the literature; however, even though they present specific patterns. Through 41 cases, 10 at the forensic institute in L ille ( F rance) and 31 at the N ew Y ork C ity O ffice of C hief M edical E xaminer ( USA ), plus 22 cases from the literature, specific locations and patterns of postmortem scavenging lesions are proposed. These lesions are mainly distributed in three locations: the face, especially the nose and the mouth (73.1%), the neck (43.1%), and the arm (shoulder/upper limb [29.2%], hand [26.8%]). We discuss the time span between death and scavenging, the consequences on identification, and comparison with outdoor settings. Outdoor scavenging lesions are mainly located on the trunk and limbs usually sparing the head, which strongly differs from indoor distribution and imply different animal motivations.