We all love zombies. The Walking Dead is one of the most popular TV shows currently on. A new zombie movie seems to come out every year.

But a real zombie apocalypse? Nature would never let it happen.

BoingBoing has a great essay up by National Wildlife Federation naturalist David Mizejewski on how nature would deal with a zombie outbreak. From birds to mammals to bacteria, zombies wouldn’t stand a chance:

Ultimately, it’s not the North America’s mega-fauna that pose the most threat to zombies. In nature, there are a whole host of tiny creatures whose main purpose is to feed upon and break down the flesh of the dead: the decomposers. Zombies, with their rotting flesh, are obviously not immune to these decomposers (what do you think causes the rotting effect?), many of which are too small to see with the bare eye. Bacteria, fungi, molds, insects such as fly maggots or flesh-eating beetles, and other invertebrates, all make up nature’s diminutive clean-up crew. And it can obliterate a dead body in surprisingly little time. The clumsy undead wouldn’t have the dexterity to pick off these decomposers, even if they could see or feel them. It would just be a matter of time. Stripped off all soft tissue, including brains, the zombies would be reduced to hollowed-out skeletons.

Now you can rest easier at night.

(Via BoingBoing) Photo by Laughing Squid under a CC-BY-NC license