5 Fascinating Facts About Vultures
Mike is an award-winning wildlife writer, former editor of Travel Zambia magazine and author of the Bradt Guide to Southern African Wildlife.
These scavenging raptors are the hyenas of the skies, playing a vital ecological clean-up role by disposing of decomposing carcasses. Broad wings allow Vultures to soar effortlessly for hours. Acute eyesight enables them to locate their quarry from miles away. And potent stomach acids help them deal with the most putrid carcass.
5 Fascinating Facts About Vultures
Of ten species that occur in Africa, the lappet-faced vulture (Torgos tracheliotos) and cape vulture (Gyps coprotheres) are the largest. Both have wingspans that may reach 2.9m.
- Vultures preserve a strict pecking order at a carcass, both among different species and between individuals of the same species. At a typical savannah gathering, the huge and aggressive lappet-faced vulture dominates. It uses its powerful bill to open up the carcass for others.
- Vultures use thermals to soar to prodigious heights. A Ruppell’s vulture sucked into a jet engine at 11,300m above Abidjan, Cote D’Ivoire,. It holds (posthumously) the altitude record for birds.
- The naked head of a typical vulture is an adaptation to ensure that no feathers become soiled when it feeds inside a carcass. It also helps in thermoregulation, allowing it to lose or preserve heat by hiding or exposing its head according to conditions.
- A vulture can cram up to 1kg of carrion into its crop – a distensible sack, located in front of its esophagus. Vultures cannot depend upon finding food daily, so this supply works as a packed lunch. When disturbed, it will empty its crop for a quick take-off and escape.
- The small Egyptian vulture (Neophron percnopterus) provides one of the best-known examples of tool use in the animal kingdom. It opens the eggs of large birds, including ostriches, by tossing small stones at the shell. It repeats the action until the shell cracks. This action was first observed by famous primatologist Jane Goodall in Ngorongoro crater, in 1963.
More on African Wildlife
To read more about the beautiful wild creatures of Africa - large and small, subscribe to the SafariBookings blog. Do we ever have some very interesting stories to share with you!
Mike is an award-winning wildlife writer, former editor of Travel Zambia magazine and author of the Bradt Guide to Southern African Wildlife.
More About This AuthorAfrican Safari Tours
-
5-Day Tanzania Experience Safari
$1,601 to $1,650 pp (USD)
Tanzania: Private tour
Mid-range Lodge & Tented CampYou Visit: Arusha (Start), Tarangire NP, Serengeti NP, Ngorongoro Crater, Lake Manyara NP, Arusha (End)
Migration Venture Africa
4.8/5 – 317 Reviews
-
6-Day Impressive Tanzania Safari
$1,924 pp (USD)
Tanzania: Private tour
Mid-range Lodge & Tented CampYou Visit: Moshi (Start), Materuni (Highlight), Tarangire NP, Lake Eyasi, Serengeti NP, Ngorongoro Crater, Mto wa Mbu (Town), Arusha (End)
Safari360
4.9/5 – 104 Reviews
-
4-Day Great Masai Mara Migration with Special Big Five
$1,096 to $1,151 pp (USD)
Kenya: Private tour
Mid-range Tented CampYou Visit: Nairobi (Start), Masai Mara NR, Nairobi (End)
Apodiformes Adventures
4.8/5 – 175 Reviews