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A factor that devastates African vulture populations is when poachers lace carcasses (e.g. rhinos killed for their horns) with poison, because vultures circling
by KineticLensman 2y ago
A factor that devastates African vulture populations is when poachers lace carcasses (e.g. rhinos killed for their horns) with poison, because vultures circling a kill reveal the presence of the poachers to wardens. A single big poisoned carcass can kill dozens of vultures at a time, of multiple species.
- jncfhnb 2y agoIsn’t it a myth that vultures circle kills
- standeven 2y agoI’ve personally seen turkey vultures circle carcasses on several occasions.
- soulofmischief 2y agoI've witnessed it many times myself.
- DontchaKnowit 2y agoNo. They'll even circle live animals if they can tell they are sick or dying. I personally witnessed this in the city trash dump of Tegucigalpa. Emaciated cattle grazing in trash, with cultures circling above them.
- fakedang 2y agoAlso vultures circling the battlefields of every Attila, Genghis Khan and Tamerlane, before swords were joined.;)
- el_benhameen 2y agoDifferent area and I assume different vultures, but head on out to the east east bay in the summer and you’ll see plenty of vulture circles.
- optimalsolver 2y agoThey absolutely do on the East African savannah.
- swatcoder 2y agoThey circle and kettle in other circumstances as well, but no, they definitely do circle iver carcasses (and what may soon become so). It's a familiar site if you live around them. Do you remember where you heard it's a myth? I'd be curious to see how that argument was made.
- jncfhnb 2y agoThe circling behavior is, as I read, almost always them waiting for a warm current to take them elsewhere.
- thebeardisred 2y agoWhere did you read this? I would love to learn more.
- jncfhnb 2y agohttps://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2017/10/25/why-do-buzzards-circle-endlessly-above-carrion/?sh=2b92416974d4 https://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2017/10/25/why-do-buzzard... https://www.quora.com/Why-do-buzzards-circle-around-their-prey-in-the-sky https://www.quora.com/Why-do-buzzards-circle-around-their-pr... https://www.livescience.com/32202-how-do-vultures-find-dead-stuff.html https://www.livescience.com/32202-how-do-vultures-find-dead-... https://www.adirondackalmanack.com/2020/07/turkey-vultures-close-loop-in-circle-of-life.html#:~:text=Contrary%20to%20popular%20belief%2C%20circling,detected%2C%20then%20repeating%20the%20process https://www.adirondackalmanack.com/2020/07/turkey-vultures-c....
- swatcoder 2y agoThanks for sharing these! And yeah, on close read, you'll see that they're all trying to communicate that you can't assume that the vultures are circling a carcass whenever you see them circling because they have other behaviors that involve circling as well. But it's an easy detail to miss in some of them for sure!
- KineticLensman 2y agoMyth or not, the poachers believe it and murder the vultures as a result. I’ve worked with vultures at a raptor conservancy. They are social, curious and intelligent birds. I have very fond memories of an Egyptian vulture named Boe who would unfailingly undoe my shoelaces when I entered her aviary. I love these birds
- spookie 2y agoAs someone who lived near Egyptian Vultures and Eurasian Black Vultures (Aegypius monachus), I can assure you they do. But that's not the only reason for them to do so.