Vultures eat anthrax, botulism, rabies, & cholera for breakfast.
-
Vultures eat anthrax, botulism, rabies, & cholera for breakfast.
Their stomach acid is among the most corrosive in the animal kingdom, with a pH around 1, low enough to dissolve the bones, hide, & pathogens of dead animals that would kill almost anything else.
A vulture eating a diseased carcass isn't a vector for disease, it's the end of the line. The disease chain ends in the vulture's gut, & that's pretty hardcore.
When vulture populations crashed in India in the 1990s, rotting livestock carcasses sat where vultures used to clean them.
Feral dogs and rats took over the cleanup, both of which actually do spread rabies. Researchers later linked the vulture collapse to roughly 500,000 deaths in India over the following decade.
The same collapse is now underway in sub-Saharan Africa. 6 of 11 African vulture species are threatened with extinction, primarily from poisoned poaching baits.
The animals nobody finds cute are doing more public health work than most of the species we actively protect.
#Birds@dbattistella I love them so much. They're such an important part of their ecosystem and need protection as much as the "prettier" species. Thank you for this post; helping people understand how vital these beautiful birds are is so important.
-
putting in a vote for lammergeiers : “This is the only living bird species that specializes in feeding on bones.”
@cerement @dbattistella They are my absolute favourite bird of all. Lammergiers rule!
-
@dbattistella they cute tho
@elilla 100% agree. @dbattistella
-
@jmht @dbattistella majestic - agree! When you see them flying so high in the skies, so big, so calm - they do look absolutely majestic!
@olena We used to live in the hills outside Madrid, and the vultures there are wonderful to watch. Very graceful fliers.
@jmht @dbattistella -
Vultures eat anthrax, botulism, rabies, & cholera for breakfast.
Their stomach acid is among the most corrosive in the animal kingdom, with a pH around 1, low enough to dissolve the bones, hide, & pathogens of dead animals that would kill almost anything else.
A vulture eating a diseased carcass isn't a vector for disease, it's the end of the line. The disease chain ends in the vulture's gut, & that's pretty hardcore.
When vulture populations crashed in India in the 1990s, rotting livestock carcasses sat where vultures used to clean them.
Feral dogs and rats took over the cleanup, both of which actually do spread rabies. Researchers later linked the vulture collapse to roughly 500,000 deaths in India over the following decade.
The same collapse is now underway in sub-Saharan Africa. 6 of 11 African vulture species are threatened with extinction, primarily from poisoned poaching baits.
The animals nobody finds cute are doing more public health work than most of the species we actively protect.
#Birds@dbattistella@mstdn.ca
Really not to flex but that vulture right there is freaking gorgeous -
@Heartofcoyote @dbattistella It helps if the raccoons unlock and open the trash containers first.
-
Vultures eat anthrax, botulism, rabies, & cholera for breakfast.
Their stomach acid is among the most corrosive in the animal kingdom, with a pH around 1, low enough to dissolve the bones, hide, & pathogens of dead animals that would kill almost anything else.
A vulture eating a diseased carcass isn't a vector for disease, it's the end of the line. The disease chain ends in the vulture's gut, & that's pretty hardcore.
When vulture populations crashed in India in the 1990s, rotting livestock carcasses sat where vultures used to clean them.
Feral dogs and rats took over the cleanup, both of which actually do spread rabies. Researchers later linked the vulture collapse to roughly 500,000 deaths in India over the following decade.
The same collapse is now underway in sub-Saharan Africa. 6 of 11 African vulture species are threatened with extinction, primarily from poisoned poaching baits.
The animals nobody finds cute are doing more public health work than most of the species we actively protect.
#BirdsI can't help but feel that humans are the stupidest creature on this planet.
-
@dbattistella "nobody finds cute" then i guess im nobody!!!!!
@awiltedrose @dbattistella "to find something cute" is realy personal/pivate feeling. Not to dispute.
-
@dbattistella
Turkey vultures are a common sight here, (western NY State, US). At least a couple times a week, I see them riding thermals in circles overhead, usually in groups of three or four. They are actually beautiful birds in their gliding serene flight, though they have a reputation for having ugly faces.One of the recent Earth Day programs at the zoo where I work was on the importance of scavengers to a healthy ecosystem. Scavengers get a bad rap out of ignorance.
Now I'm wondering if Wild Wings out in Mendon has ever gotten one come through.
-
Now I'm wondering if Wild Wings out in Mendon has ever gotten one come through.
@dzho
That would be intetesting to find out! Or maybe Braddock Bay bird observatory too. -
@roadskater
When you mentioned seeing a vulture perched atop an apartment building, I realized I've never seen one perched anywhere, only in flight. I had a sudden mental image of a vulture gargoyle, carved on the roofline of a tall building, looking quite ominous. And then I incongruously pictured the gargoyle morphing into Snoopy doing his vulture perching routine, and I broke up laughing. And then some very offended circling vultures demanded to know what I'm laughing at. I think my brain is telling me it's late and I should call it a night. I will dream of vultures.@CommonSparrow @roadskater
See my profile banner for a photo I took of two vultures, a Turkey and a Black, perched on my roof. -
@dbattistella
... and the Spanish name for vulture is fun to say:
Zopilote (zoh-pee-loh-tee)@KarenDorman very cool! Like a bad-ass pilot
