Shot a squirrel that was raiding the bird feeders (chewing them up). Put the carcass out in the field for the resident hawk & the vultures found it first. In about 2 hours, the only things left were a skull picked clean ... so clean, it looked like it had been boiled to get the meat off, the tail, and the two large hind leg bones. Everything else was gone. I am still somewhat in a state of disbelief at how clean that tiny skull was - how in the heck do they do that with their beaks (?).
“...the vultures found it first.”
It’s amazing how quickly and cleanly they can tear apart a whole animal or what’s left of it. I have a place where I move such squirrels or other formerly alive nuisances, and in the warmer months, when the vultures are around, they seem to always get there first. I’ll dump the remains and there won’t be a vulture in sight, but then very shortly there’ll be a few of them there picking it clean. They must have excellent eyesight and perhaps an incredible sense of smell.