Species profile
About the rüppell’s vulture
Rüppell's vulture holds the record for the highest verified bird flight, having struck an aircraft at 11,300 metres — an altitude survivable because of a haemoglobin variant that binds oxygen extremely efficiently. On the Serengeti it is one of the commonest large vultures at a carcass, dark with pale-edged feathers giving a scaled appearance.
Vultures are the reason carcasses vanish so quickly on the plains, and their collapse is one of Africa's most serious conservation emergencies: poisoning, largely aimed at predators, has driven Rüppell's vulture to Critically Endangered.
Life in the wild
Behavior & relationships
Behavior
Soars enormous distances on thermals searching for carcasses, and descends in numbers within minutes of one being found. Feeds by pushing deep inside a carcass.
Social life
Nests colonially on cliff ledges, sometimes in hundreds of pairs, and feeds in large mixed-species gatherings with a strict pecking order.
What makes it remarkable
Special features
A haemoglobin adapted for extreme altitude, and a bare head and neck that stay clean while feeding inside a carcass.
