Lappet Faced Vulture, Detroit Zoo, Royal Oak, MI, USA

By Sandra Vartanian Dusbiber

Hi, I am a Lappet-faced Vulture. I am one of the largest Vultures In Africa and Asia. We have very broad wings, and a powerful beak which can tare a prey in pieces. You can recognize us by being very large, with fleshy folds of skin called Lappets, on each side of our neck which gives us the our name. We love our bare pink head, do you like it too? You can see us at zoos where we sometimes have our homes. Our feathers are dark, and we weigh about 30 pounds, and our wingspans is about 8 feet, and a body length of 41.5 inches. We are a bird that is mainly a scavenger feeding on carcasses of dead animals. We are also known to hunt small reptiles, birds, fish, flamingos, mammals and even eggs.

We love living throughout the Middle East, and Africa. But, we also love the dry Savannah desert, semi arid areas that have short grass, scattered trees, bushes, and especially the open mountain slopes. Having these open areas it’s easy for foraging the environment and having the trees is so important for our roosting and nesting. Sometimes we like to sit by termite mounds or locust nests and eat them as they come out from their holes. By having featherless heads and necks help us to keep clean because we can shake off any sticky remains of our meals from our bodies. The Sun also helps bake off any nasty bacteria or parasites since it’s so hard to preen that part of our bodies.

You will not believe this but its true we help the environment by breaking down and recycling animals and aid in the removal of carcasses to help prevent the spread of diseases. Many birds like to eat our eggs, and we do everything to keep our nests safe. We build huge nests over 2 meters wide, high up in trees. Our females lay 1 to 2 eggs and both of the parents raise our Chicks. Our Chicks are dependent on their parens for almost the first year. We still can’t understand how birds will still try and steal our eggs knowing how we can have them for dinner.

We also have to be careful with Humans because you use our upper beaks for medicine. Well, we are huge birds, and you will always see us at the zoo. Don’t worry we will not bother you, we will watch you as you watch us behind the cage.