# Animals nobody eats **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 28, 2008, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animals-nobody-eats/447162 "2008-04-28T01:18:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2008, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animals-nobody-eats/447162/81 "2008-04-30T03:10:18Z")
[QUOTE=Ranchoth] What about [undersea tube worms](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_tube_worm)? [/QUOTE] > [@](#): > > They are remarkable in that they have no digestive tract, but **the bacteria (which may make up half of a worm’s body weight**) turn oxygen, hydrogen sulfide, carbon dioxide, etc. into organic molecules on which their host worms feed. This process, known as chemosynthesis, was first recognized by Colleen Cavanaugh while she was a graduate student at Harvard.[2] This evolutionary adaptation presumably came about due to the fact that the worms live so far away from sunlight. With sun not available as a form of energy, the tubeworms rely on bacteria in their habitat to obtain nutrients. Yummo! ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2008, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animals-nobody-eats/447162/82 "2008-04-30T03:32:32Z")
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton] I’m only familiar with “bear claws” as a pastry. Is that a whoosh, or do some people eat the actual paws of bears? [/QUOTE] They go for bear claws – real ones, not pastry – in China, but I cannot remember if they’re a delicacy or ground into Chinese medicine. Because of the large Chinese population in Thailand, there are occasional busts of illegal-anilmal dealers, and I’ve seen photos of the claws piled up. [Pangolins](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pangolin), too. Also called scaly anteaters. From that link: “Pangolins are also in great demand in China because their meat is considered a delicacy and some Chinese believe pangolin scales reduce swelling, promote blood circulation and help breast-feeding women produce milk. This, coupled with deforestation, has led to a large decrease in the numbers of Giant Pangolins.” Pangolins get rounded up in Malaysia and transported overland to China, still alive apparently, because frequently the smugglers are caught in Thailand with them. Pangolins are cute little guys. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2008, 11:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animals-nobody-eats/447162/83 "2008-04-30T11:08:25Z")
[QUOTE=Shagnasty] Lions are eaten. You can even buy it in some exotic meat sections in the U.S. although carnivores supposedly don’t make very good meat. [/quote] According to Jared Diamond author of _Guns, Germs, and Steel_ lion meat is quite tasty. Marc ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2008, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animals-nobody-eats/447162/84 "2008-04-30T11:25:15Z")
[QUOTE=Szlater] The French eat a small bird (bunting?), it’s no bigger than a canary. Catch em live, feed up on corn, drown in cognac, roast, consume everything but the feathers under a towel in one bite. [/QUOTE] Ortolan, I think. ---
**Author:** ![Antonius\_Block](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/51bf81/32.png) [@Antonius\_Block](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antonius_Block)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2008, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animals-nobody-eats/447162/85 "2008-04-30T11:43:33Z")
As **Struan** says, the bunting eaten whole (with a napkin draped over the eater’s head) is the ortolan. [Jeremy Clarkson shows how it’s done](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8y4MS7mSzX8), and it is _indeed_ a bizarre ritual. I can’t find the thread using Search, but ISTR that a member of this very board ate an ortolan a while back, and gave a fascinating description of the experience in a post a couple of years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2008, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animals-nobody-eats/447162/86 "2008-04-30T15:51:46Z")
[QUOTE=Intravenus De Milo] ETA: and does ANYone actually eat “ **chilled monkey brains**!”? [/QUOTE] I don’t know about chilled, but Cecil has [this](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/010309.html) to say. I’ve never heard of it occurring in Southeast Asia myself, reports to the contrary notwithstanding. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2008, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animals-nobody-eats/447162/87 "2008-04-30T15:56:08Z")
[QUOTE=Anne Neville] In _The Kitchen God’s Wife_, there is a scene in which some of the Chinese-American characters are eating jellyfish. It doesn’t specify what kind of jellyfish. I don’t know that there’d be a lot there on any jellyfish… [/QUOTE] I have eaten jellyfish at a Korean restaurant in Honolulu and a Chinese restaurant in Bangkok. Not uncommon. I do not like it, though. ---
**Author:** ![Cluricaun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Cluricaun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cluricaun)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2008, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animals-nobody-eats/447162/88 "2008-04-30T16:59:50Z")
[QUOTE=Shagnasty] As I mentioned above, alligator is readily available in Louisiana and is even farmed as food. It isn’t even considered especially exotic and it is a healthy meat. Men’s health recommended it highly in their last issue. It takes very well to spices. They sell tons of it at festivals in the New Orleans area. I have even seen alligator for sale in at least one supermarket here in Massachusetts. I have to imagine that crocodile is very similar. Try it if you get another chance. [/QUOTE] There’s a resturant in Schaumburg IL called Pappadeaux that serves fried gator bites as an appitizer. And they’re wonderful. ---
**Author:** ![jay-c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@jay-c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jay-c)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2008, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animals-nobody-eats/447162/89 "2008-04-30T20:17:05Z")
Found on a [site selling tadpoles and other critters](http://www.nilesbio.com/subcat367.html): > [@](#): > > Frog tadpoles, like their adult form, are eaten in certain regions of France (Charente-Maritime especially). Tadpole soup is a common dish amongst the Charentais but is relatively unknown outside their region. Try as I might (okay, I didn’t really try very hard), I could not find a recipe. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2008, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animals-nobody-eats/447162/90 "2008-04-30T21:33:13Z")
[QUOTE=Siam Sam] I have eaten jellyfish at a Korean restaurant in Honolulu and a Chinese restaurant in Bangkok. Not uncommon. I do not like it, though. [/QUOTE] Did you have peanut butter fish with it? Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2008, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animals-nobody-eats/447162/91 "2008-04-30T22:00:13Z")
[QUOTE=Siam Sam] They go for bear claws – real ones, not pastry – in China, but I cannot remember if they’re a delicacy or ground into Chinese medicine. [/QUOTE] It would have to be the latter if they were the **claws** as distinct from the **paws.** I’m sure there’s no way to make the claws edible. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2008, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animals-nobody-eats/447162/92 "2008-04-30T22:01:57Z")
[QUOTE=Anne Neville] I don’t know that there’d be a lot there on any jellyfish… [/QUOTE] OTOH, there’s no bones or gristle! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2008, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animals-nobody-eats/447162/93 "2008-04-30T22:50:08Z")
[QUOTE=labtrash] What about seagulls? They’re common enough. [/QUOTE] Years ago, I worked with a Dutch guy, who grew up in Occupied Holland (WWII). Starting in 1943, the Germans shipped most of the food out of the country, and left the Dutch to starve. This guy actually killed seagulls with a slingshot, and took them home to his mother, who plucked and prepared them. He told me they were awful-vile tasting and fishy smelling! Since gulls eat carrion and garbage, I’m sure eating them is not too pleasant. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2008, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animals-nobody-eats/447162/94 "2008-04-30T23:18:12Z")
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton] Rats? Anybody eat rats? [/QUOTE] The Maori of New Zealand, and I expect other Polynesians, considered the Polynesian rat or _kiore_ a delicacy. I tried it once when I lived in New Zealand. I wouldn’t recommend it. It tastes too much like rat. There are lots of other rodents I like better. The [Giant Pouched Rat](http://www.libarts.wsu.edu/anthro/pics/6-lupo.jpg) is considered good eats in much of Africa. As for bats, the large flying foxes are eaten in various parts of Asia and the Pacific, to such an extent that some species are now threatened by the practice. ---
**Author:** ![Apollyon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/apollyon/32/4238_2.png) [@Apollyon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apollyon)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2008, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animals-nobody-eats/447162/95 "2008-04-30T23:43:58Z")
[QUOTE=DLuxN8R-13] …cheetah fajitas… [/QUOTE] Oh, I want. Just for the alliteration. 🙂 (OK, not really… I have a soft spot for all the cats and wouldn’t eat a cheetah. But I did cook “Kangaroo & Kumara Coconut Curry” for the sound of it). ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2008, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animals-nobody-eats/447162/96 "2008-04-30T23:59:25Z")
I heard of people deep-frying these spiders-how much of a spider could you eat? ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2008, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animals-nobody-eats/447162/97 "2008-05-01T00:21:32Z")
[Here’s](http://www.lucky-shot.ru/english/menu/game.html) a menu from a restaurant in Saint Petersburg where I ate. The menu changes with the season, so you can’t count on having beaver or racoon every time. Sadly, they had no moose or squirrel when I was there, but I enjoyed hearing the waiter tell me “No moose or squirrel.”. I had the bear, which I had enjoyed in the US. I think someone I was with had puma, or cougar, some kind of carnivorous cat species. I sampled it, and it was pretty good, as was the wild boar. The beaver would have been an acquired taste I think, I tried some as an appetizer, but wasn’t enthusiastic about it. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2008, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animals-nobody-eats/447162/98 "2008-05-01T00:28:30Z")
[QUOTE=Bill Door] [URL=[http://www.lucky-shot.ru/english/menu/game.html](http://www.lucky-shot.ru/english/menu/game.html)]The beaver would have been an acquired taste I think, I tried some as an appetizer, but wasn’t enthusiastic about it. [/QUOTE] Was it hairy beaver, or had it been shaved? ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2008, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animals-nobody-eats/447162/99 "2008-05-01T02:18:28Z")
[QUOTE=ralph124c] I heard of people deep-frying these spiders-how much of a spider could you eat? [/QUOTE] Fried tarantula is a very popular snack in Cambodia. I’ve eaten silkworms and scorpions in China. Did not like the silkworms, but scorpions ae surprisingly good. At least, the little ones. Northeastern Thais eat a variety of insects, and since most bargirls tend to come from the Northeast, there are bug snack carts set up in the main bar areas. Something to think about the next time you want to give your newfound honey a big wet kiss. ---
**Author:** ![maggenpye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecc23a/32.png) [@maggenpye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maggenpye)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2008, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animals-nobody-eats/447162/100 "2008-05-01T04:07:21Z")
[QUOTE=Paul in Saudi] (snip) Next some animals are simply too rare (kiwis, bald eagles) to be eaten at any serious level. [/QUOTE] Kiwi are only rare because of imported rats, cats and stoats. The kiwi was valued not only for it’s meat, but also the feathers, which were made into highly prized cloaks. Maori also hunted the Moa to extinction and ate [Huhu grubs](http://www.landcareresearch.co.nz/research/biosystematics/invertebrates/invertid/bug_details.asp?Bu_ID=200), and these are making a comeback in a few wild food festivals. It’s becoming increasingly rare to find someone who _hasn’t_ eaten them (me!). New Zealand has a temperate climate, not tropical, they couldn’t afford to reject a source of protein. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animals-nobody-eats/447162.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animals-nobody-eats/447162.md?page=6)