VULTURES: NATURE'S DEDICATED SCAVENGERS

 VULTURE- NATURE’S DEDICATED SCAVENGERS

BY Tagamayana

 I have not seen these birds in the Philippines. These are African vultures-one of the icon of the African skies soaring over the vast land of the continent.

Vulture soaring high at African skies

A few months back, I saw some of these birds scavenging a carcass of dead animals near the doorstep of my room. “What a big bird… a new on my sight. Bald head …devoid of feathers! This is a vulture.” I got my camera and then took a shot.

Few weeks ago our school campus had a year- end celebration where numbers of cows/cattle were slaughtered 

 

Smells the leftover of the slaughtered cows

as part of the preparation. A day after I saw a dozen of vultures sniffing and crowding the area looking for leftovers. They were jostling each other over the carcasses of the slaughtered cows. Then these birds frequently visited the area as the surroundings still filled the smell of the rotten dead animals. They were then my daily visitors for a week. It was always a thrill to see them circling and soaring first in the air for few minutes before touchdown to the ground. Now the area is already stripped clean from carcasses left behind.

 Continental flight - Africa to Asia is soaring like a vulture

Vultures are one of the icons of the African skies. They are part of nature and doing their job on our ecosystem. They are the dedicated scavengers and play their role by scavenging dead and rotten animals that no living creatures simply do. If there are any dead animals out in the open areas, vultures can be relied to clean it up. These birds are soaring at great heights and position themselves in thermals with excellent eyesight. At high altitude they can scan for rotten, dead animals over great expanses of terrain. Though fearsome in their appearance, they rarely kill animals by themselves for these birds have no sharp beaks or talons. They are also patient. If an animal is obviously about to die and a potential meal, vultures will typically wait patiently nearby until the animal dies. Without these birds who will take care the wastes like the rotten/dying/disease animals in the vast African desert, savannah, and plains?Nobody does!

Vultures are nature’s purifiers by recycling the wastes into useful one. Every living creature has its role to play to make our planet habitable. If the role is to eat the rotten carcasses, it is still a vital function so that others may survive and live. God is a great designer and the role that vultures played in an environment is a remarkable one. God truly cares the planet He created.

We may ponder the role the vulture played and how the nature works. No wonder vultures are icon in African skies and the nature’s great and dedicated dead animal’s scavengers!