Vulture a Unique Culture

Hello readers, firstly I want to thank each one of you for showering your love towards the blog post, I promise to keep you update with unique aspects of wildlife every week.

After fantastic Kenya trip report it is difficult for me to decide upon a topic, such a difficult time ha ha ha, the difficulty is about topic selection especially after Masai the bucket is full of so many species that it is hard to make choice. I thought a lot and finally decided that will introduce a bird which is on verge of extinction if an effort is not made we will only have regrets and nothing else hence with a thought to spread awareness I would love to introduce Vulture. This bird plays a very important role in the ecosystem by disposing of carrion that would otherwise be a breeding ground for disease. So let us move to the next section to know more about the Vultures that brings a unique culture for the Society.

Why unique culture?

The reason to call it a unique culture is the nature of its behavior, you will surely agree when you will know about such different behavior, presenting some absolutely different behavior for your understanding.

There are two types of a vulture, the New World vultures, including the Californian and Andean condors, and the Old World vultures, including the birds that are seen scavenging on carcasses of dead animals on African plains

The New World vultures often vomit when threatened or approached. Contrary to some accounts, they do not "projectile vomit" on their attacker as a deliberate defense, but it does lighten their stomach load to make take-off easier, and the vomited meal residue may distract a predator, allowing the bird to escape

Vultures also urinate straight down their legs; the uric acid kills bacteria accumulated from walking through carcasses and acts as evaporative cooling

Vultures rarely attack healthy animals but may kill the wounded or sick. When a carcass has too thick a hide for its beak to open, it waits for a larger scavenger to eat first

The mountain-dwelling bearded vulture is the only vertebrate to specialize in eating bones and does carry bones to the nest for the young, and it eats some live prey

Have you ever heard such behavior of habits of any birds? Definitely not, this is why I like this bird and I try to chase and capture it any all my visits. Apart from uniqueness, the Vultures are very important for the ecosystem and have mythological importance as well. Let me explain the same in the next section

Historical and Cultural importance of Vulture

Vultures have been described in Indian mythological epic Ramayana where the Vultures king Jatayu sacrificed himself while saving Sita from the clutches of Ravana.

Some cultures like the ancient Iranians, Zoroastrians, and Tibetan Buddhists participated in “sky burials” in which they would leave their deceased to be picked over by vultures. This was an honorable process, as the vulture was a symbol of renewal and so, in a creative way, the deceased was given new life by their remains being consumed by the vulture

Egyptians recognized vulture mothers as fiercely protective, and amazingly nurturing to their young. They also keep their babies much longer (about three months) than most birds.

As a consumer of death, the Mayan felt the vulture could also convert death to life. So, the vulture was considered a symbol of cleansing, renewal, and transformation

Vultures like garbage men play a very important role in nature and human society because vultures feed on dead animal carcasses, this helps prevent the spread of disease

Vultures are the natural cleaners of the environment. They feed on dead decaying animals thereby enhancing the process of mineral return to the soil. Moreover, by disposing of the dead bodies they check the spread of infectious diseases. In absence of vultures, the population of animals like rodents and stray dogs tend to increase leading to the spread of rabies

Types of Vultures

After understanding the vulture culture, let us see how many types of vultures are around us. Around 23 species of Vulture can be found in the World out of which you can find around 9 of them in India. Unfortunately, not all of them are available many of them are extinct or on verge of it, most of them are on an endangered list.

Some of the known vulture species are Bearded Vulture, Cincerous Vulture, Egyptian Vulture, Griffon Vulture, Himalayan Vulture, Indian Vulture, Indian White-rumped Vulture, Red-headed Vulture, Slender-billed Vulture, White-backed Vulture, Lappet-faced Vulture, Hooded Vulture, and King Vulture

Conclusion

The fast depleting population of Vultures in India is a matter of serious concern and needs immediate action to conserve these scavenger birds to keep the environment neat and clean and to avoid the rabies-related deaths. Hope NGOs and Government will wake up now and take immediate action for the conservation