Vulture
Vultures are
scavenging birds, feeding mostly on the carcasses of dead
animals. Vultures are found in every continent except
Antarctica and
Oceania.
A particular characteristic of many vultures is a bald
head, devoid of
feathers. This is likely because a feathered head would become spattered with
blood and other fluids, and thus be difficult to keep clean. This feature also allows quick cleaning in a nearby river.
Vultures fall into two groups. The Old World vultures found in
Africa,
Asia and
Europe belong to the family
Accipitridae, which also includes
eagles,
kites, buzzards and
hawks.
Encyclopedia
Vultures are
scavenging birds, feeding mostly on the carcasses of dead
animals. Vultures are found in every continent except
Antarctica and
Oceania.
A particular characteristic of many vultures is a bald
head, devoid of
feathers. This is likely because a feathered head would become spattered with
blood and other fluids, and thus be difficult to keep clean. This feature also allows quick cleaning in a nearby river.
Vultures fall into two groups. The Old World vultures found in
Africa,
Asia and
Europe belong to the family
Accipitridae, which also includes
eagles,
kites, buzzards and
hawks. They find carcasses exclusively by sight.
New World vultures and
condors are not at all closely related to the superficially similar Accipitridae, but belong in the family Cathartidae, which is quite close to the
storks. Several species have a good sense of smell, unusual for
raptors.
The similarities between the two groups are due to
convergent evolution rather than a close relationship.
A group of vultures is occasionally called a
venue. When circling in the air, a group of vultures is called a
kettle.
Feeding
Vulture seldom attack a healthy living animal, but may kill the wounded or sick. Vast numbers have been seen upon battlefields. They gorge themselves when prey is abundant, till their crop forms a projection, and sit, sleepy or half torpid, to digest their food. They do not carry food to their young in their claws, but disgorge it from the crop. These birds are of great value as scavengers, especially in hot regions.
Threat due to diclofenac poisoning
The vulture population in
India has declined by up to 95% recently and two or three of the species of vulture in South Asia are nearing extinction. The cause was found to be due to the practice of giving working animals the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug
diclofenac, which has a pain killing action. Diclofenac administration keeps animals that are ill or in pain working on the land for longer. Diclofenac accumulates in the animals' bodies; when the ill animals die, their carcasses will still contain the diclofenac. Farmers leave the dead animals out in the open, relying on vultures to tidy up. Diclofenac present in carcasses it also eaten by the vultures, but unfortunately vultures are very sensitive to diclofenac and suffer kidney failure and death as a result of diclofenac
poisoning.
The decline has led to general hygiene problems in India as carcasses of dead animals now tend to rot, or be eaten by rats or wild dogs, rather than be tidied up by vultures. In addition, there are particular problems for certain human communities, such as the
Parsi, that have
sky burials where the human dead are put on the top of
Towers of Silence where vultures eat and clean the bodies and leave only dry bones.
Meloxicam – another NSAID similar to diclofenac – has been found to be harmless to vultures and should prove to be an acceptable alternative. The Government of India has banned diclofenac, but it continues to be sold over a year later.
Vultures in culture
Ancient Egypt
In Southern Africa, the name for a
Nubian Vulture is synonymous with the term applied to
lovers, because these vultures are always seen in pairs, mother and child remaining closely bonded together. Pairing, bonding, protecting, and loving are essential attributes associated with a vulture. The vulture was thought to be close to the gods who resided in the sky because of its immense size and its ability to soar high up in the sky. The
Egyptians considered the vulture to be an excellent mother, and its wide wingspan was seen as all-encompassing and providing a protective cover to its infants. The vulture hieroglyph
A was the uniliteral used for the glottal sound including words such as
mother,
prosperous,
grandmother, and
ruler.
Western culture
In contrast to many other birds of prey, vultures have often been considered repulsive in Western culture, due to their association with death. Sensationalistic journalists looking for news about bloody crimes are sometimes called "vultures". Financial investors who look for indebted companies or countries to buy
securities at low prices are known as vulture funds.
Lawyers who profit off death, such as inheritance, wrongful death, or life insurance lawyers, may also be called "vultures". A prominent
Spider-Man supervillain is known as the
Vulture.
See also
- Sky burial
- Diclofenac
- "India's Vultures Fall Prey to a Drug in the Cattle They Feed On", New York Times, Amelia Gentleman, March 28, 2006.
External links
-
- on the Internet Bird Collection
