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Project Noah Nature School
Gyps africanus
These guys were fighting over a dead elephant. It had apparently died of natural causes so hundreds of these vultures were just sitting in trees waiting for a Hyena to come and tear open the carcass. We saw a pack of Hyena's come that night.
Spotted on Jan 23, 2012
Submitted on Jan 30, 2012
5 Comments
Congrats RachaeB for the SOTD! Hi Daniele, Sikkim and Nepal form a long sub-himalayan belt. Strangely, we don't see vultures in the lower reaches of Sikkim. I've witnessed them at higher altitudes - above 12,000ft (remote places, actually) during cloud-less days, especially in Oct-Nov. I've some old photos. Last year in Nepal I've witnessed them in plenty at low altitudes. This is for your info. Thanks.
Congratulations RachaelB! Your picture has been chosen to illustrate International Vulture Awareness Day! "International Vulture Awareness Day has grown from local initiatives to become an international event set on the first Saturday of September each year. With a bad reputation as carrion eaters, vultures nevertheless play an essential ecological role in maintaining a safe and healthy environment by cleaning dead animal carcasses before they have a chance to rot and become sources of infection. Worldwide many species of vultures are under serious environmental threats.
Find out more here:
http://www.vultureday.org/
http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/exti...
Our own blogs on Project Noah:
http://blog.projectnoah.org/post/3087305...
http://blog.projectnoah.org/post/3513328...
https://www.facebook.com/projectnoah/pho...
Fantastic pictures Rachael!
Wonderful shots!! Fascinating!! Love #5!
What a neat experience. Great series.