Cape Vulture
A species of Griffon Vultures and Allies, Also known as Kolbe's Vulture Scientific name : Gyps coprotheres Genus : Griffon Vultures and Allies
Cape Vulture, A species of Griffon Vultures and Allies
Also known as:
Kolbe's Vulture
Botanical name: Gyps coprotheres
Genus: Griffon Vultures and Allies
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Description People often ask General Info
Description
This large vulture is of a creamy-buff colour, with contrasting dark flight- and tail-feathers. The adult is paler than the juvenile, and its underwing coverts can appear almost white at a distance. The head and neck are near-naked. The eyes are yellowish, and the bill is black. Juveniles and immatures are generally darker and more streaked, with brown to orange eyes and red neck. The average length of adult birds is about 96–115 cm (38–45 in) with a wingspan of 2.26–2.6 m (7.4–8.5 ft) and a body weight of 7–11 kg (15–24 lb). The two prominent bare skin patches at the base of the neck, also found in the white-backed vulture, are thought to be temperature sensors and used for detecting the presence of thermals. The species is among the largest raptors in Africa, next to the lappet-faced vulture. After the Himalayan griffon vulture and the cinereous vulture, the Cape vulture is the third largest Old World vulture. 
Size
1.1 m
Life Expectancy
30 years
Nest Placement
Cliff
Feeding Habits
Cape Vulture consumes carrion, preferring soft muscle and organ tissue from large animal carcasses. This species is social, competing with others for food, and uniquely employs communal bathing post-feeding. Cape Vulture locates meals by soaring in groups and observing other scavengers.
Habitat
Cape Vulture, inhabiting open grasslands and steppes, favor nesting and roosting on mountainous cliff faces. These birds often dwell near regions offering orographic lift. They are associated with terrain that includes karooid vegetation and bush savanna. Typically, cape Vulture colonies are situated in proximity to cliffs that provide suitable nesting sites. Cape Vulture can be found across varying elevations, from sea level to heights of at least 3000 meters, enabling expansive home ranges for foraging.
Dite type
Scavenger
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General Info
Feeding Habits
Bird food type
Distribution Area
The Cape vulture occurs in Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. Formerly, it could also be found in Namibia and Swaziland. Vagrants are occasionally recorded from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zambia. The species usually breeds and roosts on cliff faces in or near mountains, from where it can fly long distances in search of the large animal carcasses on which it specializes. Tracked specimens in Namibia were found to have home ranges 11,800–22,500 km (4,600–8,700 sq mi) in extent. In the Eastern Cape of South Africa, Cape Vultures were more likely to occupy cliff nest sites on ledges with a smaller depth and at a higher elevation, surrounded by conspecifics.
Species Status
The Cape vulture has been declining steadily since at least the 1980s, when it was first categorized as Threatened. Between 1992 and 2007 the species declined by 60-70% in South Africa alone. It was later upgraded to Vulnerable and, in 2015, to Endangered. As of 2013, estimates of total population size assume about 4,700 pairs or 9,400 mature individuals. The species is considered to be impacted by a large number of threats. A decrease in the amount of large carrion (particularly during nesting), poisoning (targeted or inadvertent), electrocution or collision with cables on electricity pylons (the most common cause of death in ringed birds), loss of foraging habitat, and unsustainable harvesting for traditional uses are thought to be the most important factors. A source of poisoning specific to many vultures, including the Cape vulture, is the drug Diclofenac and related compounds, which is used to treat arthritis in cattle, and which leads to kidney failure in vultures who consume carcasses of treated cattle. On the 20th of June 2019, the carcasses of 468 white-backed vultures, 17 white-headed vultures, 28 hooded vultures, 14 lappet-faced vultures and 10 cape vultures, altogether 537 vultures, besides 2 tawny eagles, were found in northern Botswana. It is suspected that they died after eating the carcasses of 3 elephants that were poisoned by poachers, possibly to avoid detection by the birds, which help rangers to track poaching activity by circling above where there are dead animals.
Scientific Classification
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