Rüppell's vulture

Description:

Rüppell's vulture or Rüppell's griffon vulture is an endangered African vulture. It is a large vulture, up to 90-95 cm in height and up to 2,5 meters in wingspan. Dark brown with cream scales in pattern, and long-necked with recognizable white neck ruff, cream to yellow colored bill in adult (black in juvenile) and yellow eye.

Habitat:

These shots were taken in Bahr-el-Gazal, north of N'Djamena, Chad; in an open semi-arid Sahel steppe. Rüppells griffon is an African species, widespread across Sahel and along the Rift valley. Their numbers are declining and the species is endangered now. The bird is often seen as "bad omen" (like many other vultures) and therefore often hunted and trapped only to be killed and thrown away, or poisoned. These practices are so common that this (and other) vultures are endangered in some African countries.

Notes:

This was a lucky trip, as they sometimes come. I was heading for a field work in Bahr-el-Gazal, and suddenly spotted something; at first and from away it looked like a group of smaller birds flying in circles... and when approaching, I realized that a group of some 10 to 12 large buggers were actually squabbling around a dead body. I managed to approach this feast to some 40 to 50 meters, without disturbing the group, which was good enough for my feast: a series of shots. That dead body was so decomposed that I couldn't say what it was, young donkey or cow, or old goat... but the stench was overwhelming, even from that far away. There were a group of Rueppels, two or three Lappet-faced (in back on photos No 3, 4 and 5) and a couple of White-backed vultures. And, as I did not disturb birds, that was a great moment - I was really lucky to be able to spend half and hour there and shoot my wits out - and in spite of stench.