Meet the largest and most dominant vulture of Kabalebo: the King Vulture. Unlike their smaller family member, the Black Vulture, the King Vulture is one that you won't likely see in the neighborhood of the resort. Most of the time you will find them soaring high in the sky. These were my lucky shots as I spotted one soaring quite low above the airstrip. King Vultures (Sarcoramphus Papa) are the largest vultures in Suriname (76 cm, weighing average around 3.5 kg). Their wingspan can reach a length of approximately 2 meters. Most of the time I have seen one soaring solo in the air, but they are also seen as a couple or in a small group. King Vultures also join their smaller family members, like the Turkey and the Greater Yellow Headed Vultures. Well, more like dominating them. It is known that they both need each other, as the King Vulture lacks the sense of smell of where to find the carcasses (here is where the smaller vultures come in handy). But at the bright sight the others wait until the King Vulture starts tearing the carcass' skin open of large animals with its large and powerful beak. A win-win situation for both the vultures and the environment. Here you see one King Vulture soaring high above me. You can see that it almost resembles a flying Wood Stork. The only difference is that it lacks the long neck. But no doubt you can see why it is called the King Vulture.
You may also like the following post: Comments are closed.
|
Archives
January 2025
Categories
All
|