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HOW DO VULTURES HUNT FOR FOOD?
Posted by Yu Tung, 12.05.2021
Eagles are famous raptors. They can dive and grab a little animal without a second. A vulture is also a kind of eagles, but vultures do not really hunt for food like other eagles do. Instead, they wait for dead animals’ flesh because their claws are not as powerful as those of other eagles. Vultures’ hunting behavior can be divided into three steps.
(Vultures' claws is weaker than other raptors' claws.)
First of all, vultures soar high and scan the ground to search for food. Sometimes, it may take lots of time to find dead animals. In order to minimize their amount of muscular activity, they have board wings with special down feathers. In addition, they have an excellence sense of sight. Some research said that vultures can see a 3-foot corpse on the massive fields from four kilometers away. That means that vultures are considered to be efficient fliers and predator.
(Board wings with special down feathers)
Next, once vultures spot dead animals, they locate the prey by the sense of sight or smell. Though vultures have both great senses of sight and smell, different species rely on different abilities. For instance, Turkey Vultures have a better-developed sniffing ability, so they track the food by its smell more often. Black Vultures and Old world vulture usually identify corpses by sights. However, generally speaking, if vultures cannot find any corpse to eat, they will attack and kill wounded animals. Therefore, they have various ways to ensure dead and wounded animals’ location and are able to swoop down to eat or attack them.
(A vulture is attacking a wounded animal.)
Lastly, after one vulture found and swoop down to a prey, a flock of vultures will inform their peers at first. Then, they will stay put and consume the food together. Unlike many raptors, vultures are relatively social and often feed and live in large flocks. They notify their peers to have a meal through a special flying pattern. Moreover, due to their weak claws, they can’t carry the food away. They have strong legs which bear their weight when they stand on the ground to eat. As a result, their unique body structures make them have a special eating habit which is staying put and consuming the food together.
(Stay put and consume)
To sum up, vultures have very unique hunting techniques. They fly high and scan the ground, locate the prey by smells or sights. When there are no corpses, they become predators. At last, they notify their peers to stay and consume the food together. Most importantly, those hunting processes give us a vivid example to realize the diversity of nature.
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