Good point. You would think that the ones that they come across in houses or buildings, who committed suicide or died at the beginning of the ZA, who have been locked in and haven't been able to feed, would be much weaker or decayed.

 

I thought it was stated (it could be on this forum though) that they decay, but at a slower rate. I don't know if eating live things make them decay slower.

It was weird that the walker didn't try to grab the dogs, but tried to get the car. (I think it unlikely he was asking for help

If people would stop having sex in the ZA, than yes, no more babies will be born. I wouldn't hold my breath on that though. :Grin:

 

By now some of the original walkers should have decayed and be gone. How long could the human body honestly last in that undead state?

 

I could have sworn they said in a previous season that the walkers stay strong by feeding. This is my first season on a message board, so I'm pretty sure I heard it on the show. If anyone knows what i am talking about and what episode that was, please post!

 

what i don't get is why the dogs were eating it...animals NEVER want to eat walkers..you never see crows or vultures picking at them....this is a serious inconsistency

 

While not TWD canon, the book, "The Zombie Survival Guide" makes clear that zombies decompose at an extremely slow rate because the normal process by which a dead body decomposes is changed. Specifically, various bacteria do a lot of the job of decomposition, fly larvae do part a well, but neither fly larvae nor bacteria will feed on a zombie virus infected body. The bacteria "know" that the body is infected with a virus so the bacteria do not set up shop in the body....or the virus kills the bacteria. Anyway, the normal decomposition process is not taking place, and the zombie bodies can last a long time. Damage from trees, briars, underbrush, fences, falling, etc. is what causes most of the damage to a zombie body.

 

That book I mentioned touches on this as well. Animals don't eat zombie bodies either because the animals can tell something is wrong with it. In fact, zombie flesh is "poison", so to speak. If animals eat it they will get sick and die, but of course not turn into zombie animals since that aspect only affects humans.

While the book has nothing to do with TWD, it helps things make more sense in TWD world if you apply the same rules, lol.

 

Yup the 'walkers' are decomposing, just at a slower rate than a true to life corpse. Kirkman has stated his comics were influenced by George Romero's works. There's tones of info floating around out there concerning Romero's principles of zombie characteristics.

 

i thought exactly the same thing. You don't even get flies buzzing round walkers, the dogs shouldn't have been anywhere near it

 

There was something of this nature mentioned last season by Milton at Woodbury when he was "examining" Michonne's pet walkers. He said something like the pet walkers were "weaker" from not feeding, I think.

 

Yes, I think it was something like they become more docile when not feeding or receiving stimulation. Remember the "dormant" walkers restaurant where Carl got the family picture and Michonne got the porcelain cat?

 

Yeah, so now it's still the question why the dogs ate it. It makes so much sense for an animal to feel something is wrong.

 

Well in TWD universe, walker flesh may not be poisonous to animals, and that walker was just a recently deceased corpose to that dog. Just remember Max Brooks zombie (World War Z, Zombie Surivial Guide), is his universe of zombies, and TWD and Kirkmans zombies are completely different.

Having said that... it's not to say there are similarities, as in why zombies decay at a slower rate, etc...

 

Severe starvation would cause any animal to do extreme things.. look at crazy Clara. Just stop trying to nit pick such minor points and enjoy the show.

OP: I think it is a sign to come, we have been seeing more and more overly decayed zombies this season, and I think if the show follows a logical progression we will continue to see this.

we still have to keep in mind that most of the population has turned and there are a lot more active/dangerous walkers than overly decayed ones still and if the active ones continue to eat, they will continue to survive.

 

The way I saw it, the dogs weren't eating the walker. They smelled it and backed off when Rick passed.

 

Dogs have to survive in this world too. They don't know how to open cans or cook meals, so they eat immobile, decaying walkers.
We haven't seen animal walkers, so I think it's safe to assume the animals are immune to the disease.

Therefore, it's safe for them to eat the walkers.

 

Dogs eat anything. Throw over them a wormy, rotten bone and they eat it as if it were a delicatessen. For years I tried to get one of my dogs stopped eating the s..t of my cats, without avail. Whenever my cats went to the litter tray, there was my dog, waiting impatiently, wagging her tail.

And another of my dogs left the house smelling like graveyard when he brought his bones. And the more rotten, more viciously he defended it. My father has the bites to prove it.

 

Yes, in Season 3, Milton said that the walkers do decay, but it just takes a lot longer. It was right before he made that analysis about Michonne's "pets" being a docile form of camouflage.

 

Maybe we will start seeing walker dogs