What happens to my Corpse if I die in a Forest?
I was just randomly checking out what Funerals costs and was shocked how expensive it was! €3.500 to €5.500! I live in north Germany, and we have here some very deep Woods. So I was thinking what would happen if I just die there. Let’s say no one ever finds me. Are Animals just going to eat me, and will I just be gone in a couple of years?
EDIT: If someone knows what happens step by step I would be really curious to know :D
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You'll start to decay, flies and maggots will infest you. When the smell reaches animals, they'll eat the meat. During that process the bones will get scattered. Insects will pick the bones clean and anything organic left (the bone fragments themselves) will eventually break down.
I'm aware that bodies will be eaten up, but I have to say, I have absolutely zero intuition, how long it will take.
Germany doesn't have many wild animals left, so only foxes, birds, maybe badgers and rats are left to eat larger chunks. They'll not exactly eat you in one go.
So, how long are we talking from body to bones? Weeks? Months?
Don't think it'd even take weeks. It wouldn't be just be a couple of foxes or badgers, it'd be all of them for miles around. Scent travels a long way. Then on top of the larger (by European standards) animals, lots of birds eat carrion.
Do you think I could speed up the process by feeding myself into a wood chipper?
Go on youtube and look for Body Farm documentaries. All the details you could possibly want.
According to an article from WaPo that I found after a quick Google, Germany has around 1300 wolves. So, hey, they could eat you too!
You're spot on!
Your choice of words made me think though:
Isn't the dead body the one ingesting the forrest and the native maggots and flies just clean up?