Bearded Vulture
It feeds on bone and bone marrow but also on tendons
This huge, splendid vulture (weight: 5 to 7 kg; wingspan: 2m60 to 2m90) lives in the mountains, above the tree-zone.
The Bearded Vulture (named after the little black feathers on both sides of its beak) has an entirely special diet: it feeds almost exclusively on bones and on bone marrow, which gives it a food niche with no competitors.
When the bone is too big to be crashed by the beak, the Bearded Vulture flies up holding it in its claws and, when at a height of 50 to 100 metres, drops the bone on to a rocky area (which is called an “ossuary”), where it breaks. Tendons are also part of its diet, thanks to a stomach containing some particularly effective gastric juices! In the South-East of Europe and the Middle East, Bearded Vultures feed also on tortoises.
For several years now, a program of reproduction and reintroduction back to the wild has been carried out in Europe with impressive results: more and more Bearded Vultures gliding above the Alps once again. (Website: www.gyp-monitoring.com)
Two Bearded Vultures
In our “Jardin des Mondes”, two Bearded Vultures are visible
A less threatened species
- Name : Bearded Vulture
- Latin name: Gypaetus barbatus
- Origin : North-East Africa, Europe, Central Asia, China
- IUCN status: Least concerned
- Cites : Appendix II
