# Vulture — Facts, Threats & Conservation

*Old World vultures (family Accipitridae) and New World vultures (family Cathartidae)*

> A vulture is a large scavenging bird of prey that feeds mainly on carrion. There are two unrelated groups: Old World vultures of Africa, Asia and Europe, and New World vultures of the Americas, which evolved similar features independently. Most have a bald head and soar to find food.

**IUCN status:** Varies; many Old World vultures Critically Endangered  ·  **WARN range:** Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, South America

## Quick facts
| Fact | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Common name | Vulture |
| Groups | Old World and New World vultures |
| Living species | About 23 worldwide |
| Diet | Carrion (scavenger) |
| Distribution | Every continent except Antarctica and Australia |
| Habitat | Open country, savanna, mountains, forest edges, deserts |
| Key feature | Bald head, broad soaring wings, keen eyesight |
| Stomach acidity | Around pH 1, kills most pathogens |
| Behaviour | Soars on thermals; feeds in groups called wakes |
| Conservation | Varies; several Old World species Critically Endangered |

## Scientific classification
- **Kingdom:** Animalia
- **Phylum:** Chordata
- **Class:** Aves
- **Order:** Accipitriformes
- **Families:** Accipitridae (Old World vultures); Cathartidae (New World vultures)
- **Groups:** Old World vultures; New World vultures
- **Living species:** About 23 (16 Old World, 7 New World)

## Conservation status
- **Status:** Status varies enormously across the roughly 23 vulture species. Many are still relatively widespread, but a large proportion of Old World vultures are now classed as Vulnerable, Endangered or Critically Endangered by the IUCN, including several South Asian and African species that have suffered some of the steepest declines recorded in any birds. New World vultures are generally more secure, though the California condor remains Critically Endangered after near-extinction.
- **Population:** No reliable global total; trends are tracked per species. Several Critically Endangered Asian and African species number only in the thousands or fewer.
- **Trend:** Declining overall, with severe crashes in parts of Asia and Africa, though a few species are stable or recovering through intervention.
- **Assessed:** Assessed individually by species on the IUCN Red List; group status reflects recent assessments through the 2010s and 2020s.
- **CITES:** Many vulture species are listed on CITES Appendix I or II, restricting international trade.
- Status is reported per species on the IUCN Red List rather than for vultures as a whole, because the two unrelated groups span many separate species.

## Key facts: Vulture
- Vultures are specialised scavengers that feed almost entirely on carrion, the carcasses of dead animals.
- There are two unrelated groups: Old World vultures (Africa, Asia, Europe) and New World vultures (the Americas), which evolved similar traits independently.
- Conservation status varies enormously: several Old World species are Critically Endangered while some are still relatively secure.
- The veterinary painkiller diclofenac, fatal to vultures that eat treated livestock carcasses, caused South Asian populations to collapse by up to 99% from the 1990s.
- Extremely acidic stomachs let vultures safely digest carcasses carrying anthrax, botulism and other pathogens, limiting the spread of disease.
- By clearing carcasses rapidly, vultures provide a free, natural sanitation service that protects both wildlife and people.

## What is a vulture and what makes it different?
A vulture is a large bird of prey that has specialised in scavenging rather than hunting live prey. Instead of strong gripping talons like a hawk or eagle, most vultures have relatively weak, flattened feet better suited to walking around a carcass than seizing prey. Their most recognisable feature is a bald or sparsely feathered head and neck. Feeding deep inside a carcass would foul any feathers there, so bare skin stays cleaner and is easier to keep free of bacteria; it also helps the bird regulate its temperature. Vultures are superb soarers, riding columns of warm rising air called thermals so they can patrol vast areas while using very little energy. Old World vultures locate food almost entirely by sight, scanning the ground from great height. Several New World vultures, such as the turkey vulture, add an unusually keen sense of smell, detecting gases from decay even under forest cover. A flock circling in the air is called a kettle, a group feeding at a carcass a wake, and birds resting together a committee.

## Old World vs New World vultures: are they related?
Despite looking almost identical in lifestyle and silhouette, the two vulture groups are not close relatives. Old World vultures, including griffon vultures, the lammergeier and the huge cinereous vulture, belong to the family Accipitridae alongside eagles, hawks and kites, and live across Africa, Asia and Europe. New World vultures, including the turkey vulture, black vulture, king vulture and the great condors, form the separate family Cathartidae and live only in the Americas. The strong resemblance between them is a classic case of convergent evolution: two different lineages independently evolved the same set of adaptations because both fill the same scavenging niche. There are useful differences. Old World vultures find carcasses by eyesight alone, while some New World vultures track scent. New World vultures also lack a fully developed voice box and are largely silent, communicating with hisses and grunts, and several cool themselves by urinating on their own legs. Both groups share the same essential job: turning death into clean, recycled nutrients.

## Why are so many vultures endangered?
Vulture conservation status varies dramatically by species. Some remain reasonably widespread, but a large share of Old World species are now Vulnerable, Endangered or Critically Endangered, and the group as a whole has suffered some of the steepest declines of any birds. The most notorious cause is diclofenac, a cheap anti-inflammatory drug given to livestock. When cattle treated with it die, vultures that feed on the carcasses suffer fatal kidney failure. From the early 1990s this collapsed populations of several South Asian species by up to 99% in only a couple of decades, one of the fastest declines ever recorded in a wild bird. In Africa, deliberate and accidental poisoning is the leading threat: poachers sometimes lace carcasses to stop circling vultures revealing the location of illegal kills, killing hundreds of birds at once. Other pressures include collisions with power lines, loss of large wild grazing animals, and use of vulture body parts in traditional medicine. Because vultures breed slowly, often raising a single chick at a time, recovery is painfully slow once a population crashes.

## Why do vultures matter to ecosystems and people?
Vultures are among nature's most important recyclers. A group can strip a large carcass in hours, removing rotting flesh before it becomes a breeding ground for disease. Their stomachs are extraordinarily acidic, with a pH close to 1, which destroys dangerous pathogens such as anthrax, botulism and cholera that would sicken other animals. By consuming infected carcasses safely, vultures break chains of transmission that could otherwise reach livestock and humans. When vultures disappear, the consequences ripple outward. After the Asian vulture collapse, carcasses lingered longer and populations of feral dogs and rats rose, which is linked to greater risks of rabies and other diseases. Vultures therefore provide a vast, free sanitation service that would be almost impossible and hugely expensive to replace. Protecting them means tackling shared threats such as poisoning, habitat loss and the disappearance of the large wild and domestic animals whose carcasses they depend on, exactly the kinds of pressures that also harm many other species.

## Old World vs New World vultures
| Feature | Old World vultures | New World vultures |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Where they live | Africa, Asia, Europe | North and South America |
| Family | Accipitridae (with eagles, hawks) | Cathartidae (separate family) |
| Finding food | By eyesight only | Sight, plus strong smell in some species |
| Voice | Can produce varied calls | No voice box; mostly hiss and grunt |
| Cooling habit | Pant and seek shade | Some urinate on their own legs to cool |
| Relationship | Both look alike through convergent evolution, not close kinship | Both look alike through convergent evolution, not close kinship |

## What WARN does
World Animal Rescue Network does not run dedicated field projects for vultures, most of which live outside the five countries where WARN and its partners work. This guide is part of WARN's free educational mission to help people understand and value wildlife. The threats that have pushed many vultures towards extinction, such as poisoning, habitat loss and the decline of the animals they feed on, are the same pressures that harm species WARN does help protect, which is why raising awareness of them matters.

If you value clear, science-based wildlife guides like this one, a small gift helps keep WARN's educational work free for everyone.

## Frequently asked questions: Vulture
### What do vultures eat?
Vultures eat carrion, the flesh of animals that are already dead. They almost never kill healthy prey. Most feed on whatever carcasses they find, from large grazing animals to smaller creatures. A few, such as the lammergeier, specialise in bones, while the palm-nut vulture also eats fruit. By consuming the dead, vultures recycle nutrients and stop carcasses spreading disease.

### Why do vultures have bald heads?
A vulture's bald head is an adaptation to its messy diet. Because vultures push their heads deep inside carcasses, bare skin stays far cleaner than feathers would, and is easier to keep free of harmful bacteria after feeding. The exposed skin also helps the bird control its body temperature, flushing red when hot and paling when cool, and in some species plays a role in social signalling.

### Are vultures dangerous to humans?
No. Vultures are not dangerous to people. They scavenge dead animals and have weak feet unsuited to attacking live prey, so they pose no threat to humans, pets or livestock. They will not harm a living animal. In fact vultures benefit people by clearing carcasses and destroying dangerous pathogens such as anthrax and rabies in their highly acidic stomachs, reducing disease risk in the wider environment.

### What is the difference between Old World and New World vultures?
Old World vultures live in Africa, Asia and Europe and belong to the same bird family as eagles and hawks. New World vultures live in the Americas and form a separate family. They look alike only because both evolved to scavenge, an example of convergent evolution. A key difference is that Old World vultures find food by sight, while some New World vultures, like the turkey vulture, also use a strong sense of smell.

### Why are vultures endangered?
Many vultures, especially in Asia and Africa, have declined catastrophically. The biggest cause in South Asia is the livestock drug diclofenac, which causes fatal kidney failure in vultures that eat treated carcasses and cut some populations by up to 99% since the 1990s. In Africa, poisoning, including carcasses deliberately laced by poachers, is the leading threat. Power lines, habitat loss and slow breeding rates make recovery difficult.

### How high and how far can vultures fly?
Vultures are exceptional soarers, riding rising columns of warm air called thermals to gain height without flapping. Many routinely soar at hundreds of metres and can reach several thousand metres up. The Ruppell's griffon vulture holds the record for the highest confirmed bird flight, recorded at around 11,000 metres. By gliding from thermal to thermal, vultures can cover very large distances each day while spending little energy searching for food.

## Sources
- [Vulture - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vulture)
- [Old World vulture - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_World_vulture)
- [New World vulture - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_World_vulture)
- [IUCN Red List](https://www.iucnredlist.org)
- [CITES](https://cites.org)
- [Vulture - Encyclopaedia Britannica](https://www.britannica.com/animal/vulture)

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Full guide: https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/vulture