“ I once was in sightings where a pride of lions had moved off a kill to digest their swollen full bellies which allowed the vultures to quickly move in. The large strong bill of the Lappet-faced vulture allows them to slit through the skin of the carcass while some of the smaller vultures will await their arrival as they are unable to get through the thick skin of the animal. Here a Hooded Vulture (left) and a White-backed Vulture (right) are perched in the same tree as they wait for the opportunity to scavenge on the carcass below. Eventually, at times finding both of themselves at the same carcass – so it begs the question who is the better scavenger? While these birds scan from above, the wandering hyena weaves its way through the landscape often with its nose to the ground or up in the air into the wind trying to navigate its way to a potential food source. The eyesight of the vultures is what aids them to find their food as they soar in the skies above while meticulously scanning the ground below. Using different tactics in finding potential food both are highly specialized in their senses to find food – and rightfully so as it is how they survive. Ranger Robyn Morrison recently wrote a blog The Real Circle Of Life: A Quick Note On Nutrient Cycling where she explains how the circle of life and different animals play an important role in the nutrient cycle – which vultures and hyenas are paramount to this process. Often when hyenas and vultures take over a carcass there is a flurry of activity as they frantically try and feed on whatever they can. Essentially, strong enough to dissolve diseases such as anthrax, botulism, and cholera (all of which are harmful to other animals). The stomach acids of both the hyenas and vultures not only digest the decaying meat and shards of bone but also kills off the bacteria and disease preventing them from being harmed. Cleaning up carcasses and recycling every last nutrient. Their main diet consists of carrion (decaying flesh) and due to their powerful digestive systems, they are able to digest this putrid food they prevent the spread of diseases in the bushveld. Scavenge /ˈskavɪn(d)ʒ/ (verb): search for and use anything from discarded waste. But out of these two – who is the best scavengers? Both scavengers play a crucial role in the ecosystem by being the final consumer and returning nutrients back into the ground. And rightfully so as they are found lurking around carcasses awaiting the opportunity to steal whatever they can. It goes without saying hyenas and vultures are undoubtedly coupled with death.
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