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Ruppell's Griffon Vulture Tree ( Gyps rueppellis)

Masai Mara Game Reserve

Kenya

East Africa

 

I want to thank my Flickr friend Achim for letting me know about a special day which took place yesterday.

 

An image of a vulture can be seen in the first comment section.

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International Vulture Awareness Day - 4th September 2021

 

In a survey conducted by BirdLife International, 75% of people think of vultures as dirty undertakers – the thought that they circle helpless prey a common theme.

 

Conversely, these cautious creatures are themselves the ones that are helpless to the threat of human persecution.

 

Vultures are affectionately known by nature-lovers worldwide as ‘Nature’s Clean-up Crew’. They clean our landscapes like no other - nature's most successful scavengers. And they do all this for free.

 

They are in reality fantastically hygienic, caring parents, and quite shy characters.

 

Nature's very own biological recycling team, vultures play a vital role in clearing away carcasses and are likely to help limit disease transmission at carcasses.

 

Without their heroics, these diseases contaminate water sources, creating a knock-on effect that threatens both ours and our animal compatriot’s lives.

 

How would your local environment look (and smell) if the garbage-disposal team disappeared?

 

Also, an African safari tour would not be quite the same with hundreds of unconsumed carcasses around.

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Uploaded on September 5, 2021