What Counts in the End
Is It Still Alive, or Is It Time to Feast?
If you see these eyes staring at you in the wild, you should be seriously worried about your state of health. They belong to a griffon vulture, a creature that only approaches its prey when it is lying defenseless on the ground. Once it’s fully dead, the picnic can begin…
The goat is not going to make it much farther. A griffon vulture (Gyps fulvus) already realized the foregone conclusion hours ago, even from an altitude of 10,000 feet. It has been circling its unmindful prey since the early morning hours, hardly beating a wing in the process. Its wingspan of up to 9 feet makes it easy for the big bird (weighing up to 25 pounds) to ride the thermals. In addition, a griffon vulture in flight uses the least energy, proportionally, of any bird. A lifetime of experience (up to 40 years) has taught the bird that time is its closest ally, and patience will be rewarded. Because death is always waiting in the wings, so to speak.
When the goat’s time comes, the vulture does not hesitate. After all, it’s not the only creature to have taken an interest in a goat on its last legs. The moment the elegant bird lands, the melee begins: Griffon vultures forage in groups, and self-assertion is an asset. At home in Southern Europe, Central Asia, and two swaths across North and Sub-saharan Africa, the scavengers live in colonies of up to 250 individuals, and a bird’s rank in the hierarchy determines who eats first. Thus dozens of hungry beaks are now vying for dominance as the feathered assemblage decides which one will get first dibs on the goat. Finally an alpha male circling the cadaver hisses loudly to make its message clear: The goat is mine! Then the winning bird digs in, followed by the others in a ravenous display. A hungry griffon vulture can consume up to 6 pounds of meat in 20 minutes— which is just about a quarter of its body weight. That can have weighty consequences—literally: Oftentimes a vulture that has pigged out will be too heavy to take off. Such a hefty indulgence calls for a postprandial nap to digest and recover. But it won’t be long before the big birds are back in the air again, eagerly searching for new prey…