3rd September: Vultures

The first Saturday in September is International Vulture Awareness Day. By consuming the carcasses of diseased animals, vultures prevent the spread of life-threatening diseases such as rabies and anthrax among animals and humans.

1. There are 23 different species of vulture and they are divided into two groups which aren't as closely related to each other as you might expect. 16 species are Old World vultures found in Africa, Asia, and Europe belong to the family Accipitridae, which also includes eagles, kites, buzzards, and hawks. The rest are New World vultures which live in the Americas who were once thought to be closely related to storks. 14 species are considered either threatened or endangered.
2. The largest vulture is The Andean condor, found in South America, which has a wingspan of 10-11 feet. The smallest is the crow-sized hooded vulture, found sub-Saharan Africa with a wingspan of five feet.
3. To find food, they fly high and they fly far. In 1973, a vulture hit an aircraft at 37,000 feet. Their territories are wide and they ignore human national boundaries with impunity. A griffon vulture was once accused of being a spy. It had been tagged by Tel Aviv University as part of a study into their movements, and wound up in Saudi Arabia. Thankfully the university and Saudi security were able to resolve the misunderstanding.
4. They don't circulate potential prey waiting for it to die - they're up there catching the thermals looking for food that's already dead. Nor will they attack a healthy living animal. They have been known to kill wounded or sick animals but usually only when food is scarce.
5. They are often found sharing a carcass with other vultures and other scavengers. While their bills are very powerful, sometimes the hide of the carcass is too thick for the vultures, so they will allow other scavengers to eat first and clean up what they leave.
6. A vulture's stomach acid is very corrosive, which allows them to eat rotting meat. Their digestive juices will kill off Botulinum, cholera, and anthrax. Although they can digest really putrid stuff, they much prefer fresh meat when they can get it.
7. Vultures can eat up to 20 percent of their own body weight in one sitting. When they've finished gorging themselves they'll sit and digest their food. Should they be threatened by a predator they'll vomit. Pretty disgusting but not so much an attack, but a means of lightening their body weight so they can fly away.
8. Another apparently disgusting habit they have is peeing down their legs. However, remember they've been standing on rotting, germ-ridden carcasses so doing this helps kill off any Bacteria on their feet.
9. Vultures are bald for two reasons. One, so when they stick their heads in a dead animal, they don't get nasty stuff stuck in their feathers. It's also thought to play a role in regulating their body heat.
10. A group of vultures in flight is called a kettle. A group of resting vultures is called a committee, volt, or venue. A group of feeding vultures is called a wake.