Vultures Dine at Turkish Carrion Restaurant

[Donna]

Ask someone what his or her favorite animal is and most probably won't answer "vulture." That doesn't mean the threatened scavenging birds don't have their defenders, though. According to NatGeo News Watch and Çağan Şekercioğlu, senior research biologist at Stanford University, vultures are so threatened by the toxins found in their carrion's flesh, they sometimes need special preserves stocked with clean meat to thrive. Call it the vulture's version of the regional, organic, neighborhood restaurant.

A new such restaurant just opened in Iğdır, Turkey, near the Armenian border in eastern Anatolia. The region is especially important to four types of vultures: Egyptian, griffon, bearded and black. Turkish officials and conservationists like Şekercioğlu hope that a fresh selection of untainted carrion will protect these species from the toxic hazards that have decimated populations in other parts of the world. California condors were so threatened by the lead shot lacing their scavenged meals, the bullets are now banned within their range. In northern and central India, the livestock drug diclofenac, present in the cow carcasses vultures feed upon, nearly drove the birds to extinction. Such veterinary medicines can damage vultures' kidneys.

For anyone skeptical of why vultures should be preserved in the first place, the situation in India provides a compelling case. Vulture deaths there started a nasty cycle: The scavengers became the scavenged as feral dogs started eating the poisoned birds. Booming packs of feral dogs meant an increased threat of rabies in humans. It's easy enough to see why Turkey would wish to avoid such a situation.

The big question though is where does all this clean meat come from? Şekercioğlu says it will be a mix of "road kill, butcher shop remains, the carcasses of farm animals that have died naturally […] or animals like wild boars that have been killed by local hunters." (Don't worry, no lead poisoning here; the hunters use copper bullets for their boar hunting.) And if vulture fine dining sounds like something you'd like to make your own reservation for, the new restaurant will also feature hides for tourists, wildlife photographers and residents to watch from. Bon appetit!

[Wing Goose]

Interesting story.  That is a beautiful picture of a (white) vulture.  Never thought I would think of one being handsome.  Thanks for the story Donna.
      Lola
 

[Donna]

Interesting story.  That is a beautiful picture of a (white) vulture.  Never thought I would think of one being handsome.  Thanks for the story Donna.
      Lola
 

Your welcome Lola.