Lappet Face Vulture

Fun Facts

1. The lappet-faced vulture is one of the most aggressive of African birds. It possesses one of the strongest beaks, usually arriving last to the carcass due to its ability to tear off skin, tendons, and ligaments that are too tough for smaller scavengers. In fact, they are able to strip a small antelope carcass to the bone within 20 minutes.
2. Because of their dominating size, they will often scare off or steal from smaller vultures.
3. These vultures do not feed strictly on carrion; they have been known to sit by termite mounds or locust nests and eat them as they emerge from their holes.
4. Lappet-faced vultures sometimes raid flamingo colonies, killing adults, young, and eating the eggs.
5. They are usually solitary or live in pairs. Contrary to popular belief, they do not locate carrion by smell. They find carcasses by watching the behavior of other birds.
6. Their featherless heads and necks help them to keep clean because they can shake off any sticky remains of their meals. The sun bakes off any bacteria or parasites since this the hardest part of the body to preen.
7. These birds have a larger wingspan than any other vulture in Africa.

Ecology and Conservation

The scavenging behavior of the Lappet-Faced Vultures helps break down and recycle animal matter. They aid in the removal of carcasses and help to prevent the spread of disease.

Vulture eggs and young are prey for other predators such as crows.

Widespread accidental poisoning, largely due to strychnine, used by many farmers for predator control, and more recently carbofuran, has contributed significantly to declines.

The upper beaks of these birds may be traded for traditional medicine and they are also often mistakenly persecuted as a livestock predator.

The total population is estimated to be declining at a very rapid rate. Ogada et al. (2016) estimated the population in Africa could decline by 80% in just over three generations.