Among the fastest-declining birds in the world, African vultures battle many of the problems commonly plaguing wildlife today, such as habitat loss, hunting, and poisoning, but they also face a more unique set of obstacles.
Vultures are often associated with death, but some vulture species are themselves at risk of extinction. What can their fate tell us about the interaction between humans and the natural world in our time?
Ecology
Aug 11, 2023
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Since the 1950s, humanity has produced an estimated 8.3 billion tons of plastic, adding a further 380 million tons to this amount each year. Only 9% of this gets recycled. The inevitable result is that plastic is everywhere, ...
Plants & Animals
Apr 12, 2023
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With their long, featherless necks and stern-looking faces, vultures are an easy target for people's fear and loathing. In books and films, they usually appear as a forewarning of bad things to come. And they are often used ...
Plants & Animals
Feb 22, 2023
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Coprolites (fossil feces) from around 30,000 years ago have been used to identify the presence of bearded vultures (Gypaetus barbatus) at the Paleolithic site of Lagar Velho (Portugal). A comparison of the coprolites found ...
Paleontology & Fossils
Jan 3, 2023
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Scientists have shed light on the vast distances traveled by vultures—with several birds regularly commuting over 1,200 km in week-long excursions.
Plants & Animals
Oct 4, 2022
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Some 15 Griffon vultures from Spain have been released into the wild in Cyprus to help revive the east Mediterranean island's population that's dropped to just 8-10 birds because of deliberate poisoning, conservationists ...
Ecology
Sep 28, 2022
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How can a vulture in a Berlin Zoo help its conspecifics and their habitats in Namibia? Perhaps it can serve as a model and patron for a new generation of animal tags.
Ecology
Sep 13, 2022
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Vultures perform important ecosystem functions as they clean the landscape by eating carcasses and thus limit the spread of wildlife diseases. Yet, vulture populations are rapidly declining, mainly owing to intentional and ...
Plants & Animals
Jun 27, 2022
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Vultures are long-lived birds, and because they are scavengers, they're vulnerable to chronic chemical exposure through the food chain. An article published in Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry reviews the primary ...
Ecology
Jun 8, 2022
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