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 anticipate this highly effective chicken to tear the carcass open. This could then enable different vultures to feed. The Griffon Vultures (Gyps fulvus) got here subsequent and so they gorged themselves on the carcass as soon as the Cinereous Vulture had made means. Subsequent got here the big Bearded Vulture (Gypaetus barbatus) who solely took bones and subsequently 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 get together.
A current paper appears to corroborate this image. A minimum of it reveals that the most important, 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 fact 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 might be the extra highly effective of the 2 however, confronted with overwhelming numbers of Griffons, they often give means. Third, the facility of the Cinereous Vulture anatomy permits them to devour components of the carcass that Griffons can’t deal with, or select to not go for. These components embrace 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 components 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 taking a look at all this the fallacious means? Egyptian Vultures usually arrive with the bigger vultures. They don’t wait in line with the prescribed plan set out by ornithologists. They usually leap straight into the mêlée. Possibly they aren’t essentially the most highly effective however they’re adept at weaving their means around the squabbling Griffons and stealing the items that they’re after. They might be socially subordinate however they’re intelligent and skillful and so they usually get their means.
If one species suits the plan it’s the Bearded Vulture. It at all times 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 principle mass of vultures. Does this make the Bearded Vulture socially subordinate to the opposite vultures? Not essentially.
All this goes to point out how cautious we’ve to be when making sweeping statements about something in Nature. Most of the time the animals themselves show us fallacious and all it will have taken would have been cautious statement within the subject within the first place. There isn’t a substitute for that, not even digital camera traps though these would possibly assist us significantly. If in case you have an opportunity to have a look at vultures intently, see what you discover. For those who get to see different vultures in different components of the world, attempt to see if there’s a sample to their behaviour at a carcass.
