Rüppells Vulture head-first feeding on Wildebeest

Yes it is gruesome, but such is life in the wild. This photo shows why vultures are bald. Going head-first during feeding would otherwise smear their feathers too much. The photo also shows the hierarchy amongst vultures. The white and large one is the adult Rüppells Vulture, the three brown ones are juveniles. It takes as much as 7 years for a Rüppells Vulture to reach full adulthood, and to finally get that white/brown feather pack.

comments (2)

Claire Hamilton

Lion

Interesting that there is so much of the animal left for the vultures to get to, presumably a natural death rather than taken down by a predator. Lucky for the vultures! Posted 11 years ago
1. Ferdy Christant
  
  Lion
  
  I was thinking the same thing, this must have been a jackpot for them. Posted 11 years ago

The Rüppells Vulture

Rüppell's Vulture or Rüppell's Griffon Vulture is a large vulture that occurs throughout the Sahel region of central Africa. The current population of 30,000 is decreasing due to loss of habitat and other factors. Known also as Rüppell's Griffon, Rueppell's Griffon, Rüppell's Griffin Vulture, Rueppell's Vulture and other variants, Rüppell's Vulture is named in honor of Eduard Rüppell, a 19th-century German explorer, collector, and zoologist. Rüppell's Vulture is considered to be the highest-flying.. more

Info 13 1

Similar species: Diurnal Birds Of Prey

Species identified by Ferdy Christant