I hike around the rural area where I live and a couple of years ago found a fresh elk cow carcass. Over the next few weeks I saw it most days and watched it gra

I hike around the rural area where I live and a couple of years ago found a fresh elk cow carcass. Over the next few weeks I saw it most days and watched it gradually dissolve into a small scattering of large bones. My own dog helped with that. The next spring that spot was noticeably greener than the surroundings. It probably helped a few more coyotes survive. I don't doubt that the corpse benefited the environment, but what an unholy stench and horror show in the meantime. It's hard to imagine people tolerating that process within smelling distance.