page_title: Rüppell's vulture
section_title: Feeding
hierarchical_section_title: Rüppell's vulture / Behavior / Feeding
caption_attribution_description: English: Rüppell's vultures (Gyps rueppellii) in Masai Mara National Reserve, Kenya. Casualties of Western white-bearded wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus subsp. mearnsi ) littered the banks downriver after crossing. The vultures were not able to work on the victims as their beaks and claws were not strong enough to tear through the skin. They had to wait for the crocodiles to tear the carcass open before initiating feasting.
context_page_description: Rüppell's vulture, also called Rüppell's griffon vulture, named after Eduard Rüppell, is a large vulture that can be found throughout the Sahel region of central Africa. The current population of 22,000 is decreasing due to loss of habitat, incidental poisoning, and other factors. Known also as Rüppell's griffon, Rueppell's griffon, Rüppell's griffin vulture, Rueppell's vulture and other variants, it is not to be confused with a different species, the griffon vulture. Rüppell's vulture is considered to be the highest-flying bird, with confirmed evidence of a flight at an altitude of 11,300 m above sea level.
context_section_description: Rüppell's vultures have several adaptations to their diet and are specialized feeders even among the Old World vultures of Africa. They have an especially powerful build and, after the most attractive soft parts of a carcass have been consumed, they will continue with the hide, and even the bones, gorging themselves until they can barely fly. They have backward-pointing spikes on the tongue to help remove meat from bone. Despite their size, power and adaptations, they are not the most dominant vulture in their range, which is considered to be the even larger lappet-faced vulture.
caption: At a blue wildebeest carcass in the Mara River at the Masai Mara, Kenya
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