I used to be introduced up in the old-fashioned wherein the established dogma, when it got here to European vultures no less than, was that there was a hierarchy when it got here to feeding at carcasses. The story went one thing like this. The most important and strongest species – the Cinereous Vulture (Aegypius monachus) – was the primary to reach. If not first, no less than the others needed to watch for this highly effective chicken to tear the carcass open. This could then permit different vultures to feed. The Griffon Vultures (Gyps fulvus) got here subsequent they usually gorged themselves on the carcass as soon as the Cinereous Vulture had made method. Subsequent got here the massive Bearded Vulture (Gypaetus barbatus) who solely took bones and due to this fact needed to wait till the carcass had been picked clear. Lastly, the small Egyptian Vulture (Neophron percnopterus) would are available in on the finish to take the leftovers from the celebration.
A current paper appears to corroborate this image. Not less than it exhibits that the biggest, and by implication strongest, species are dominant and most aggressive. There’s additionally an adult-juvenile hierarchy inside species. All this makes intuitive sense and will maintain some reality however I’ve spent a few years observing these 4 species and I’m not satisfied that the story is that this neat.
For starters Griffon Vultures are completely able to dispatching a carcass with out having to attend for a Cinereous Vulture to reach. They do that by beginning to open the carcass up alongside the weakest level, often the anus, the mouth or the eyes. Second, Cinereous Vultures could be the extra highly effective of the 2 however, confronted with overwhelming numbers of Griffons, they often give method. Third, the facility of the Cinereous Vulture anatomy permits them to eat elements of the carcass that Griffons can’t address, or select to not go for. These elements embody tendons, for instance, and I’ve usually seen Cinereous Vultures on the periphery of a carcass ready from the Griffons to go away and go away these tasty morsels. So possibly all this energy is for consuming the elements which might be inaccessible to different vultures and never for dominating on the carcass, or a mixture of each.
What in regards to the Egyptian Vulture? That is the smallest species and socially subordinate. However are we all this the fallacious method? Egyptian Vultures usually arrive with the bigger vultures. They don’t wait in keeping with the prescribed plan set out by ornithologists. They usually leap straight into the mêlée. Possibly they don’t seem to be probably the most highly effective however they’re adept at weaving their method around the squabbling Griffons and stealing the items that they’re after. They could be socially subordinate however they’re intelligent and skillful they usually usually get their method.
If one species matches the plan it’s the Bearded Vulture. It all the time arrives final however, then once more, why ought to it arrive any sooner? It solely eats bones so there’s no level coming in too quickly. If a Bearded Vulture arrives whereas different vultures are nonetheless feeding, it tends to hold across the fringe of the primary mass of vultures. Does this make the Bearded Vulture socially subordinate to the opposite vultures? Not essentially.
All this goes to indicate how cautious now we have to be when making sweeping statements about something in Nature. Most of the time the animals themselves show us fallacious and all it could have taken would have been cautious remark within the subject within the first place. There isn’t a substitute for that, not even digicam traps regardless that these may assist us significantly. When you’ve got an opportunity to take a look at vultures intently, see what you discover. If you happen to get to see different vultures in different elements of the world, attempt to see if there’s a sample to their behaviour at a carcass.
