Vulture#Conservation status

{{Paraphyletic group

| auto = yes

| fossil_range = {{fossil range|3.6|0|Miocene – Recent}}{{cite web |url= https://paleobiodb.org/classic/checkTaxonInfo?taxon_no=105599|title= Fossilworks:Aegypiinae|publisher=Fossilworks |access-date=17 December 2021}}

| image = Gyps rueppellii -Nairobi National Park, Kenya-8-4c.jpg

| image_caption = Rüppell's vulture

| parent = Accipitriformes

| subdivision_ranks = Families

| subdivision = * Accipitridae p.p.

}}

A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture (including condors).{{Cite web|date=2001|title=Dropping dead: causes and consequences of vulture population declines worldwide|url=https://assets.peregrinefund.org/docs/pdf/research-library/2011/2011-Ogada-vultures.pdf}} Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to North and South America and consist of seven identified species, all belonging to the Cathartidae family.{{cite journal |author1=Amadon, D. |year=1977 |title=Notes on the taxonomy of vultures |journal=The Condor |volume=79 |issue=4 |pages=413–416 |doi=10.2307/1367720 |jstor=1367720 |url=https://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/condor/v079n04/p0413-p0416.pdf}}

A particular characteristic of many vultures is a bald, unfeathered head. This bare skin is thought to keep the head clean when feeding, and also plays an important role in thermoregulation.{{cite journal |author1=Ward, J. |author2=McCafferty, D.J. |author3=Houston, D.C. |author4=Ruxton, G.D. |name-list-style=amp |title=Why do vultures have bald heads? The role of postural adjustment and bare skin areas in thermoregulation |journal=Journal of Thermal Biology |volume=33 |issue=3 |date=2008 |pages=168–173 |doi=10.1016/j.jtherbio.2008.01.002|bibcode=2008JTBio..33..168W }}

Vultures have been observed to hunch their bodies and tuck in their heads in the cold, and open their wings and stretch their necks in the heat. They also urinate on themselves as a means of cooling their bodies.{{cite journal|title=Temperature Regulation in Turkey Vultures |first1=Z. |last1=Arad|first2=M. H. |last2=Bernstein |name-list-style=amp |date=1988 |journal=The Condor |volume=90 |issue=4|pages=913–919 |doi=10.2307/1368848 |jstor=1368848}}

A group of vultures in flight is called a "kettle", while the term "committee" refers to a group of vultures resting on the ground or in trees. A group of vultures that are feeding is termed a "wake".{{cite book |editor=Galván, J. |title=They Do What? A Cultural Encyclopedia of Extraordinary and Exotic Customs from around the World |year=2014 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |location=Santa Barbara, California |isbn=978-1-61069-342-4 |author=Hamilton, S.L. |chapter=Sky Burials |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e2RyBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA289 |page=289}}

Taxonomy

Although New World vultures and Old World vultures share many resemblances, they are not very closely related. Rather, they share resemblance because of convergent evolution.Phillips (2000)

Early naturalists placed all vultures under one single biological group. Carl Linnaeus had assigned both Old World vultures and New World vultures in a Vultur genus, even including the harpy eagle. Soon anatomists split Old and New World vultures, with New World vultures being placed in a new suborder, Cathartae, later renamed Cathartidae as per the Rules of Nomenclature (from Greek: carthartes, meaning "purifier")Brookes (2006) by French ornithologist Frédéric de Lafresnaye.{{Cite book|title=Notes on the Taxonomy of Vultures The Condor Vol. 79, No. 4|year=1977|pages=413–416}} The suborder was later recognised as a family, rather than a suborder.

In the late 20th century, some ornithologists argued that New World vultures are more closely related to storks on the basis of karyotype,de Boer (1975) morphological,Ligon (1967) and behavioralKönig (1982) data. Thus some authorities placed them in Ciconiiformes with storks and herons; Sibley and Monroe (1990) even considered them a subfamily of the storks. This was criticized,Griffiths (1994)Fain & Houde (2004) and an early DNA sequence studyAvise (1994) was based on erroneous data and subsequently retracted.Brown (2009)Cracraft et al. (2004)Gibb et al. (2007) There was then an attempt to raise the New World vultures to the rank of an independent order, Cathartiformes, not closely associated with either the birds of prey or the storks and herons.Ericson et al. (2006)

Old World

The Old World vultures found in Africa, Asia, and Europe belong to the family Accipitridae, which also includes eagles, kites, buzzards, and hawks. Old World vultures find carcasses exclusively by sight.

The 16 species in 9 genera are:

Cinereous vulture, Aegypius monachus
Griffon vulture, Gyps fulvus
White-rumped vulture, Gyps bengalensis
Rüppell's vulture, Gyps rueppelli
Indian vulture, Gyps indicus
Slender-billed vulture, Gyps tenuirostris
Himalayan vulture, Gyps himalayensis
White-backed vulture, Gyps africanus
Cape vulture, Gyps coprotheres
Hooded vulture, Necrosyrtes monachus
Red-headed vulture, Sarcogyps calvus
Lappet-faced vulture, Torgos tracheliotos
White-headed vulture, Trigonoceps occipitalis
Bearded vulture (Lammergeier), Gypaetus barbatus
Egyptian vulture, Neophron percnopterus
Palm-nut vulture, Gypohierax angolensis

File:Wiki vulture2.jpg|Some members of both the Old and New World vultures have an unfeathered neck and head, shown as radiating heat in this thermographic image.

File:Gyps fulvus feeding.jpg|Griffon vultures scavenging a red deer carcass in Spain

File:Vulture 19o05.jpg|Griffon vulture soaring

File:Vulture11.jpg|Vulture preparing to land in Kenya

File:African Hooded Vulture (Necrosyrtes monachus), Kruger National Park.jpg|African hooded vulture in Kruger National Park

File:White-backed vultures eating a dead wildebeest.JPG|A wake of white-backed vultures eating a wildebeest carcass in Maasai Mara

File:White-rumped vulture (Gyps bengalensis) Flock gathered near carcass Photograph by Shantanu Kuveskar.jpg|Flock of white-rumped vultures in India

File:Vulture's head Park Mellat Tehran.JPG|Head of a vulture chick, Iran

New World

File:(Coragyps atratus) black vulture wake at road kill - wiki.jpg ]]

The New World vultures and condors found in warm and temperate areas of the Americas belong to the family Cathartidae. Recent DNA evidence suggests that they should be included within order Accipitriformes along with birds of prey including hawks, eagles, and Old World vultures {{Citation needed|date=July 2023}}. Several species have a good sense of smell, unusual for raptors, and are able to smell dead animals from great heights, up to a mile away. The seven species are:

Black vulture Coragyps atratus in South America and north to the US
Turkey vulture Cathartes aura throughout the Americas to southern Canada
Lesser yellow-headed vulture Cathartes burrovianus in South America and north to Mexico
Greater yellow-headed vulture Cathartes melambrotus in the Amazon Basin of tropical South America
California condor Gymnogyps californianus in California, formerly widespread in the mountains of western North America
Andean condor Vultur gryphus in the Andes
King vulture Sarcoramphus papa from southern Mexico to northern Argentina

Feeding

Vultures are scavengers, meaning that they eat dead animals. Outside of the oceans, vultures are the only known obligate scavengers.{{Cite journal|last1=Ruxton|first1=Graeme D.|last2=Houston|first2=David C.|date=2004-06-07|title=Obligate vertebrate scavengers must be large soaring fliers|url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15135041/|journal=Journal of Theoretical Biology|volume=228|issue=3|pages=431–436|doi=10.1016/j.jtbi.2004.02.005|issn=0022-5193|pmid=15135041|bibcode=2004JThBi.228..431R }} They rarely attack healthy animals, but may kill the wounded or sick. When a carcass has too thick a hide for its beak to open, it waits for a larger scavenger to eat first.{{cite web |url=http://www.webvulture.com/vulture-facts.html |title=Fast Vulture Facts |publisher=WebVulture.com |access-date=February 15, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718015236/http://www.webvulture.com/vulture-facts.html |archive-date=July 18, 2011}} Vast numbers have been seen upon battlefields. They gorge themselves when prey is abundant, until their crops bulge, and sit, sleepy or half torpid, to digest their food. These birds do not carry food to their young in their talons but disgorge it from their crops. The mountain-dwelling bearded vulture is the only vertebrate to specialize in eating bones; it carries bones to the nest for the young, and hunts some live prey.

Vultures are of great value as scavengers, especially in hot regions. Vulture stomach acid is exceptionally corrosive (pH=1.0{{Cite journal |last1=Buechley |first1=E. R. |last2=Sekercioglu |first2=C. H. |name-list-style=amp |title=Vultures |journal=Current Biology |volume=26 |issue=13 |pages=R560–R561 |doi=10.1016/j.cub.2016.01.052 |pmid=27404248 |year=2016 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2016CBio...26.R560B }}), allowing them to safely digest putrid carcasses infected with botulinum toxin, hog cholera bacteria, and anthrax bacteria that would be lethal to other scavengers{{cite web |url=http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives/2000-09/968529176.Bc.r.html |title=Re: How come that vultures can resist dangerous toxins when feeding on carcass |last1=Caryl |first1=Jim |date=September 7, 2000 |publisher=MadSci Network |access-date=February 15, 2013}} and remove these bacteria from the environment. New World vultures often vomit when threatened or approached. Contrary to some accounts, they do not "projectile vomit" on their attacker in defense, but to lighten their stomach load to ease take-off. The vomited meal residue may distract a predator, allowing the bird to escape.{{cite web|url=http://vulturesociety.homestead.com/TVFacts.html |title=Turkey Vulture Facts |publisher=Turkey Vulture Society |access-date=2012-12-01}}

In various regions of Africa, the dynamic interplay of vultures and predators such as lions, cheetahs, hyenas, and jackals significantly influences the continent's food web. These avian scavengers actively engage in competition with these predatory animals for sustenance, meticulously tracking their hunting activities.{{Cite web |date=2023-06-06 |title=Birds That Are Scavengers and Their Importance To The Ecosystem {{!}} STP News |url=https://news.safaritravelplus.com/animals/birds-that-are-scavengers/ |access-date=2023-06-07 |language=en-US}}

Traditionally, vultures are known to bide their time, patiently observing from a distance or high in the sky as predators bring down their prey and commence feeding. Once these formidable predators have satiated their hunger and moved away from their kills, the vultures swoop in, making the most of the leftovers.

New research has revealed that these birds can, in addition to sight, respond to auditory cues indicative of potential foraging opportunities.{{Cite web |date=2020-05-20 |title=Vultures respond to auditory cues - AfricanBioServices |url=https://africanbioservices.eu/vultures-respond-to-auditory-cues/ |access-date=2023-06-07 |language=en-GB}}

Interaction between vultures and predators is not strictly sequential or one-sided. Vultures, being opportunistic creatures, will often engage in risky behavior if a prime opportunity arises. Sometimes, when the predator numbers are low or distracted, these large birds might move in earlier, attempting to snatch morsels from the kill before the predators have fully vacated the scene. This daring strategy, while high-risk, underscores the fierce competition and survival instincts prevalent in the harsh realities of the African wild.{{Cite web |date=2015 |title=Food fight: Jackal takes on vultures over a carcass {{!}} Predator vs Prey {{!}} Earth Touch News |url=https://www.earthtouchnews.com/natural-world/predator-vs-prey/food-fight-jackal-takes-on-vultures-over-a-carcass |access-date=2023-06-07 |website=Earth Touch News Network |language=en}}

New World vultures also urinate straight down their legs; the uric acid kills bacteria accumulated from walking through carcasses, and also acts as evaporative cooling.{{cite web |url=http://animals.howstuffworks.com/birds/vulture-vomit.htm |title= Why is it a bad idea to scare a vulture? |last1=Conger |first1=Cristen |publisher=HowStuffWorks |access-date=February 15, 2013|date= 2008-10-13 }}

Conservation status

Vultures in south Asia, mainly in India and Nepal, have declined dramatically since the early 1990s.{{cite journal |author1=Prakash, V. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Pain, D.J. |author3=Cunningham, A.A. |author4=Donald, P.F. |author5=Prakash, N. |author6=Verma, A. |author7=Gargi, R. |author8=Sivakumar, S. |author9=Rahmani, A.R. |title=Catastrophic collapse of Indian white-backed Gyps bengalensis and long-billed Gyps indicus vulture populations |journal=Biological Conservation |year=2003 |volume=109 |issue=3 |pages=381–390 |doi=10.1016/S0006-3207(02)00164-7 |bibcode=2003BCons.109..381P |url=https://save-vultures.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/2003-Prakash-et-al-Catastrophic-declines-Biol-Con.pdf |access-date=2024-07-28 |archive-date=2022-03-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220312191335/https://save-vultures.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/2003-Prakash-et-al-Catastrophic-declines-Biol-Con.pdf |url-status=live}} It has been found that this decline was caused by residues of the drug diclofenac in livestock carcasses.{{cite journal|last1=Oaks |first1=J. L. |first2=Martin |last2=Gilbert |first3=M. Z. | last3=Virani |first4=R. T. |last4=Watson |first5=C. U. |last5=Meteyer |first6=B. A. |last6=Rideout |first7=H. L. |last7=Shivaprasad |first8=S. |last8=Ahmed |first9=M. J. I. |last9=Chaudhry |first10=M. |last10=Arshad |first11=S. |last11=Mahmood |first12=A. |last12=Ali |first13=A. A. |last13=Khan |name-list-style=amp |title=Diclofenac residues as the cause of vulture population decline in Pakistan |journal=Nature |issue=6975 |pages=630–633 |date=2004 |doi=10.1038/nature02317 |pmid=14745453 |volume=427 |bibcode=2004Natur.427..630O|s2cid=16146840 }} The government of India has taken very late cognizance of this fact and has banned the drug for animals.{{cite journal |last1=Prakash |first1=V. |first2= M. C. |last2=Bishwakarma |first3=A. |last3=Chaudhary |first4=R. |last4=Cuthbert |first5=R. |last5=Dave |first6=M. |last6=Kulkarni |first7=S. |last7=Kumar |first8=K. |last8=Paudel |first9=S. |last9=Ranade |first10=R. |last10=Shringarpure |first11=R. E. |last11=Green |name-list-style=amp |date=2012 |title=The Population Decline of Gyps Vultures in India and Nepal Has Slowed since Veterinary Use of Diclofenac was Banned |journal=PLOS One |volume=7 |issue=11 |pages= e49118 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0049118 |pmid=23145090 |bibcode=2012PLoSO...749118P |pmc=3492300|doi-access=free }} It may take decades for vultures to come back to their earlier population level, if ever. Without them to pick corpses clean, rabid dogs have multiplied, feeding on the carrion, and age-old practices like the sky burials of the Parsees are coming to an end, permanently reducing the supply of corpses.{{cite journal |last1=van Dooren |first1=T. |title=Vultures and their People in India: Equity and Entanglement in a Time of Extinctions |journal=Australian Humanities Review |date=2011 |issue=50 |url=http://www.australianhumanitiesreview.org/archive/Issue-May-2011/vandooren.html |access-date=2016-09-24 |archive-date=2016-10-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161011145001/http://www.australianhumanitiesreview.org/archive/Issue-May-2011/vandooren.html |url-status=dead }} The same problem is also seen in Nepal where the government has taken some late steps to conserve the remaining vultures.

The vulture population is threatened across Africa and Eurasia. There are many human activities that threaten vultures such as poisoning and collisions with wind turbines.{{cite journal |author1=Santangeli, A. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Girardello, M. |author3=Buechley, E. |author4=Botha, A. |author5=Minin, E. D. |author6=Moilanen, A. |year=2019 |title=Priority areas for conservation of Old World vultures |journal=Conservation Biology |volume=33 |issue=5 |pages=1056–1065 |doi=10.1111/cobi.13282 |pmid=30645009 |pmc=6849836 |doi-access=free|bibcode=2019ConBi..33.1056S }} In central Africa there have been efforts to conserve the remaining vultures and bring their population numbers back up. The decline is largely due to the trade in vulture meat, "it is estimated that more than {{Cvt|1|e9kg|e9lb|abbr=unit|disp=sqbr}} of wild animal meat is traded" and vultures take up a large percentage of this bushmeat due to the demand in the fetish market.{{Cite journal |last1=Buij |first1=R. |last2=Nikolaus |first2=G. |last3=Ogada |first3=D. |last4=Whytock |first4=R. |last5=Ingram |first5=D.J. |name-list-style=amp |date=2015 |title=Trade of threatened vultures and other raptors for fetish and bushmeat in West and Central Africa |journal=Oryx |volume=50 |issue=4 |pages=606–616 |doi=10.1017/S0030605315000514 |doi-access=free}} The substantial drop in vulture populations in the continent of Africa is also said to be the result of both intentional and unintentional poisoning, with one study finding it to be the cause of 61% of the vulture deaths recorded.{{Cite journal |last1=Ogada |first1=D. |last2=Shaw |first2=P. |last3=Beyers |first3=R. L. |last4=Buij |first4=R. |last5=Murn |first5=C. |last6=Thiollay |first6=J. M. |last7=Beale |first7=C. M. |last8=Holdo |first8=R. M. |last9=Pomeroy |first9=D. |name-list-style=amp |date=2016 |title=Another Continental Vulture Crisis: Africa's Vultures Collapsing toward Extinction |journal=Conservation Letters |volume=9 |issue=2 |pages=89–97 |doi=10.1111/conl.12182 |doi-access=free|bibcode=2016ConL....9...89O |hdl=10023/8817 |hdl-access=free }}

A recent study in 2016, reported that "of the 22 vulture species, nine are critically endangered, three are endangered, four are near threatened, and six are least concern".{{Cite journal|last1=Buechley|first1=E. R. |name-list-style=amp |last2=Şekercioğlu|first2=Ç. H.|date=2016 |title=The avian scavenger crisis: Looming extinctions, trophic cascades, and loss of critical ecosystem functions |journal=Biological Conservation |volume=198 |pages=220–228 |doi=10.1016/j.biocon.2016.04.001 |doi-access=free|bibcode=2016BCons.198..220B }}

The conservation status of vultures is of particular concern to humans. For example, the decline of vulture populations can lead to increased disease transmission and resource damage, through increased populations of disease vector and pest animal populations that scavenge carcasses opportunistically. Vultures control these pests and disease vectors indirectly through competition for carcasses.{{Cite journal |last1=O'Bryan |first1=C. J. |name-list-style=amp |last2=Holden |first2=M. H. |last3=Watson |first3=J. E. M. |title=The mesoscavenger release hypothesis and implications for ecosystem and human well-being |journal=Ecology Letters |issue=9 |pages=1340–1348 |doi=10.1111/ele.13288 |pmid=31131976 |year=2019|volume=22 |bibcode=2019EcolL..22.1340O |s2cid=167209009 }}

On 20 June 2019, the corpses of 468 white-backed vultures, 17 white-headed vultures, 28 hooded vultures, 14 lappet-faced vultures and 10 cape vultures, altogether 537 vultures, besides 2 tawny eagles, were found in northern Botswana. It is suspected that they died after eating the corpses of three elephants that were poisoned by poachers, possibly to avoid detection by the birds, which help rangers to track poaching activity by circling above dead animals.{{cite news |publisher=NDTV |work=Agence France-Press |title=Over 500 Rare Vultures Die After Eating Poisoned Elephants In Botswana |url=https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/over-500-rare-vultures-die-after-eating-poisoned-elephants-in-botswana-2056740 |date=2019-06-21 |access-date=2019-06-28}}{{cite news |last=Hurworth |first=Ella |title=More than 500 endangered vultures die after eating poisoned elephant carcasses |publisher=CNN |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2019/06/21/africa/botswana-vultures-endangered-elephants-intl-hnk/index.html |date=2019 |access-date=2019-06-28}}{{cite news |last=Solly |first=M. |title=Poachers' Poison Kills 530 Endangered Vultures in Botswana |publisher=Smithsonian |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/poachers-poison-kills-530-endangered-vultures-botswana-180972477/ |date=2019 |access-date=2019-06-28}}

In myth and culture

In Ancient Egyptian art, Nekhbet, a mythological goddess and patron of both the city of Nekheb and Upper Egypt{{Cite book|last=Wilkinson|first=R.H.|title=The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt |publisher=Thames & Hudson|year=2003|pages=213–214}} was depicted as a vulture. Alan Gardiner identified the species that was used in divine iconography as a griffon vulture. Arielle P. Kozloff argues that the vultures in New Kingdom art, with their blue-tipped beaks and loose skin, better resemble the lappet-faced vulture. Many Great Royal Wives wore vulture crowns - a symbol of protection from the goddess Nekhbet.{{Cite web|title=The Ancient Egyptian Goddess of Pregnancy|url=https://classroom.synonym.com/ancient-egyptian-goddess-pregnancy-5902.html}}

Ancient Egyptians believed that all vultures were female and were spontaneously born from eggs without the intervention of a male, and therefore linked the birds to purity and motherhood, but also the eternal cycle of death and rebirth for their ability to transform the "death" they feed on – i.e. carrion and waste – into life.{{Cite web|title=Life Egyptian Vulture|date=2018|url=https://www.lifegyptianvulture.it/en/the-egyptian-vulture/}}

In Pre-Columbian times, vultures were appreciated as extraordinary beings and had high iconographic status. They appear in many Mesoamerican myths, legends, and fables from civilizations such as the Maya and Aztecs, some depicting them negatively, others positively.{{Cite book|last=Benson|first=Elizabeth P.|title=The Vulture: The Sky and the Earth}}

File:Aztec vulture vessel.jpg|The Aztec vulture vessel at the new Pre-Columbian Mesoamerican Pottery Gallery

File:Egypt.Nekhbet.01.jpg|Nekhbet with staff and shen ring

File:Granite Vulture from Temple of Taharqa.jpg|Granite vulture from Temple of Taharqa, Sanam Abu Dom, Napatan Period, 25th Dynasty

References

External links

[http://ibc.lynxeds.com/order/falconiformes Vulture videos] on the Internet Bird Collection
[http://www.ventanaws.org/species_condors/ Ventana Wildlife Society] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161019135151/http://www.ventanaws.org/species_condors/ |date=2016-10-19 }}
[http://www.masdebunyol.com/index.php?idioma=en Vulture observatory in Spain]
[http://vimeo.com/15318002 A Vulture Restaurant]
[http://www.dnaindia.com/ahmedabad/1878207/report-iima-s-vulture-count-reduced-by-two Declining Vulture Count in India]
[http://snmcpn.org/vultures Vulture Conservation in Western Coast of India] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170601105044/http://www.snmcpn.org/vultures |date=2017-06-01 }}
[https://www.ajol.info/index.php/vulnew/index Website for journal Vulture News]

Category:Birds of prey

Category:Scavengers

Category:Bird common names

Category:Polyphyletic groups