Zombies do not necessarily have a better sense of smell than your average human. They just rely more heavily on it, making them far more aware of odors around them. Oftentimes people seeking refuge from zombies are sniffed out rather then heard or spotted. The systems responsible for the sense of smell are buried deep inside the head near the brain, typically making smell the last sense to diminish due to decay or damage.

Zombies have the same sense of sight that you have. However, their sight diminishes quickly as their eyes begin to dry out and decay. Typically in less then a month’s time, zombies are rendered completely blind. However, their lack of sight is made up for with a very adept sense of smell. Zombies also do not possess any other special types of vision either. For example, they do not have thermal (infrared) vision, night vision, x-ray vision, etc. They also do not see by movement. That is not to say that movement will not set them off, but it is not what their vision is based on. Basically if we don’t have it, neither do they. It is estimated that zombies are still over 80% combat effective without their sense of sight.

Sound or hearing is a zombie’s primary sense. As their eyesight quickly fails, they become more reliant on their sense of hearing for direction, making it their dominant sense. This is a trait similarly found in humans. People who have been blinded often have their other senses (especially hearing) greatly heightened. Due to the simplicity of their brains, zombies are unable to distinguish differences in sounds. In turn, they react to any sound they hear, tracking it to its sources with uncanny accuracy. Silence is one of our greatest weapons.

It is uncertain whether zombies possess the ability to taste. They can however distinguish the difference between old and fresh meat, and prefer the latter. They also seem to favor certain pieces of the human body above others, namely muscle mass. It only makes sense that if something could smell, it could taste as these senses work in tandem. But this is still an unverified theory. A common misconception among people is that zombies eat brains. This is just not that case. The brain is housed in the rear portion of the skull know as the cranium. This is one of the hardest bones in the human body, and is not easily accessed by the rudimentary scraping and biting associated with a zombie attack. That is not to say that should it by some means become accessible to them they would not eat it. It just means that they don’t seem to have a particular “taste” or desire for it, let alone the means to acquire it.

Zombies do not possess a sense of touch. They can, however, sense when they have grabbed onto something, or when they have come into contact with an object. This reaction would seem to denote a sense of touch. However, studies have confirmed that zombies are 100% nerve dead and therefore lack the receptors required for feeling. How they do this remains a mystery. As mentioned earlier, a zombie’s lack of feeling prevents them from reacting to physical injury. Because of this, zombies are relentless. There have been numerous cases reported where zombies have been decimated, and they still retain the will to pursue and feed.

	A Large Burining Pit

Zombies do not require any of the body’s vital systems to sustain operation. They do not require food, water, blood, or even air. They can easily function in both extreme heat and extreme cold, however they will only function for a short period of time in subfreezing conditions (until their brain freezes), and will regain function once thawed. They require none of their internal organs with the exception of one, the brain. Destruction of the brain is the only sure way to kill a zombie. Freezing or burning a zombie can potentially kill it. However, this is entirely based upon the amount of damage their brain sustains, and is an unreliable method of extermination. Decapitation will render the body nonfunctional. However, the head will remain “alive” and still pose a hazard.

The two most effective ways to exterminate a zombie have been found to be massive blunt force trauma to the head (from weapons such as clubs, crowbars, and machetes), and impalement of the brain from projectile based weapons (such as guns, and arrows). Once the brain has been destroyed, a zombie will cease to function on all levels.

Once killed, a zombie’s body still poses a number of hazards. Zombie or otherwise, a rotting body is a breeding ground for any number of different diseases, and must be dealt with as soon as possible. A zombie’s body should be treated like any other form of hazardous waste. You should avoid direct skin contact at all costs, and whenever possible, wear a full hazardous material (hazmat) suit while disposing of a body.

A zombie’s body can be disposed of a number of different ways. The most traditional method would be to simply bury it and allow nature to run its course. However, this may become unfeasible when dealing with large quantities of bodies. Also, you are going to want to cover the bodies as soon as possible to prevent contamination, and this may not be possible with a mass grave. The most preferred method when attempting to dispose of a zombie’s body would be cremation. A fire hot enough to successfully destroy a body is more then hot enough to destroy any diseases. A pile of ashes is also much easier to dispose of, and takes up far less room than a whole body, and is far safer than a field a buried diseased corpses.