Angels of Death Revisited

A Rüppels Griffon vulture coming in to land.

A Lappet-Faced Vulture up close.

Sometimes, one writes something and uses references from personal experience only to find out later that perhaps what you said isn’t quite accurate. And so it was pointed out to me that the information I had been given about Africa’s vultures was not quite correct. 

This set me off on a research binge and then I discovered that the correction to my information was not quite correct either, or should I say, it could not be set in stone as the only behaviour of certain vultures. I will explain. The incorrect information I was given is that the Hooded Vulture is the vulture first on the scene at a kill/carcass and that they will open up the carcass if there is no predator already doing the job. The correction I was given is that it is the Lappet Faced Vulture, with its strong beak will be first on the scene and will open up the carcass. However, there is a danger in generalizations and of course, I think, Google misleads one. 

In an Africa Geographic article Kerri Wolter, South Africa’s foremost vulture expert states that the Lappet-Faced Vulture, with its strong, sharp beak will open up the carcass. However, she goes on to state that the Hooded Vulture, the smallest African vulture has the sharpest eyes, and is almost always first on the scene. However, it will stand back and wait for the other larger species to eat their fill and then it will move in. 

Now, as a lay person, or let’s just say a person who is a bit obsessed with vultures, I have photographed many vulture conglomerations at various carcasses. My own experience ranges from vultures on a “lion kill”, so that means they get the scraps. Vultures on various dead carcasses where no predators were involved and those are quite numerous. Things like lightning strikes, snakebite deaths, etc. And then, the biggest fest I witnessed was when 60-odd wildebeest drowned in a Mara River crossing and the carcasses were caught in an eddy with no crocodiles in sight. At this juncture I then went and looked at The Roberts as I refer to it, to double check this information and it is there that I found that generalizations cannot be made with regards to what happens as it will depend on the circumstances of the carcass being presented for consumption. 

The Hooded Vulture 

Usually first at the food source but it does stand back waiting for the other vultures to scrap it out. Its primary target is the eye, offal, and bones of a carcass. It also will scratch in moist lion droppings. On old carcasses, it will eat maggots and other insects. It will also eat fish stranded in drying pools. 

The Lappet-Faced Vulture 

Will arrive singly or in pairs at a carcass. It is often the last of the species to arrive. However, it will dominate all the other species, but it usually waits for the other vultures to stop their scrapping. It eats primarily, skin, tendons, ligaments, and elements other vultures aren’t physically equipped to handle. It seldom takes meat, organs, or intestines. It will steal food if it’s hungry. 

Cape Vulture 

Will search aerially in large numbers and when a carcass is discovered they will arrive rapidly in numbers. The Cape Vulture dominates all other species except the Lappet-Faced Vulture. It will also wait for other scavengers to open the carcass. The Cape Vulture is a flesh eater consuming muscle tissue, organs, and viscera of medium to large size carcasses. White Headed Vulture is a scavenger, predator, and pirate. It is frequently first on the scene at a carcass but it hunts more than it scavenges. They are most prone to being poisoned by farmers. 

White Back Vulture 

Is a highly aggressive vulture. It will fly in and land on top of other vultures. It will even jump on the backs of other vultures. The White Back Vulture’s diet comprises almost solely flesh and organs and sometimes the trachea and eyes. It rarely kills its own prey. My Personal Experience I have spent many hours photographing vultures in Southern Africa and East Africa much to the boredom of those around me and my experience tells me that there are no absolutes. 

On a Dead Carcass 

I have witnessed many vulture conglomerations around a dead carcass. The reason the carcasses were there in the first place varies. Anything from lightning strikes to electrocutions. My first observation was that the Lappet-faced Vulture was not always around (they’re an endangered species and the numbers are really low). In the case of the floating carcasses of wildebeest (referred to above) that had drowned in a crossing a few days before, the Rüppels Griffons were the only species duking it out on the carcasses and they had started without either predators or the Lappet Faced Vulture being in sight. The eyes I think may have been the first target then they headed to the rear end of the beast and were ripping away at what must have been where the skin was softest because they had succeeded in tearing away openings so that they could get to the flesh, which is their preference. There were no crocodiles around at the time, but I daresay this feast would not have gone unnoticed for too long. 

Also in the Mara, I came across two zebras that had been hit by lightning. This time it was the spotted hyena that did the honours and then left the blackjack jackals to fight it out with the vultures once they had had their fill. 

My conclusion, after personal observation, is that the behaviour of most animals cannot be set in stone, cannot be accurately predicted due to the changing circumstances and we should not ever assume that we are experts just simply because we know a little more than someone else. 

Africa has a little knack for making fools of us all when we become either too complacent or too superior. 

with love from Africa 

Christine 

Don't forget if you are looking for exceptional artwork my work is available online at www.christinelamberth.com.