Question: Can bones be eroded?

Sean Kelly answered on 8 Nov 2014:

They sure can. While bones are indeed very hard, they can be broken down. Bones can be broken down in various different ways. For example, if bones are eaten, the acids and enzymes in an animals stomach (including a humans stomach) help dissolve and break down the bone so the animal can get nutrients and energy. However, not all animals can eat bones as they can be very difficult to digest. A great example of an animal who can eat bones ins the bearded vulture (see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bearded_vulture). When this vulture finds bones of a dead animal, it will eat them if they are small enough, or if they’re too big, the vulture will pick the bones up, fly very high and drop the bones down onto rocks to break them open. Once broken into smaller pieces, they can happily eat the bones. Bones can also be broken down over time by tiny micro-organisms which really slowly eat the minerals from the bone. Also, natural processes such as wind and rain can help break down bones.