The Majestic Vulture: Nature's Cleanup Crew

The vulture is one of the largest and most impressive birds of prey. Its size and strength are awe-inspiring to anyone who sees it. With a body length of 1.10 meters and a wingspan of 2.70 meters, the vulture is the most frequently mentioned bird of prey in the Bible, topping the list of unclean birds (Leviticus 11:13; Deuteronomy 14:12) and symbolizing power, speed, and agility.

Since it feeds exclusively on carrion, the vulture acts as nature’s “sanitarian,” removing remains of dead animals, thus preventing the spread of diseases and epidemics. Its presence in the ecosystem is critically important.

The vulture requires a relatively warm climate and is found in Mediterranean, arid, and desert climates, residing in mountainous landscapes with towering cliffs.

Because vultures feed on carcasses, Hashem equipped them with bodies superbly adapted for the task: a large, strong, and sharp beak that can tear through the skin of carcasses, allowing chunks of meat to be ripped apart. Their long necks enable them to reach into the interior of a carcass through narrow openings made in the skin. Thanks to their nearly bald heads and necks, there's no risk of blood or flesh sticking to them.

Vultures are the first in the chain to feed on carcasses, allowing smaller and weaker scavengers to enjoy the remains only after vultures are done eating.

A vulture's vision is highly developed, allowing it to spot carrion from 7 kilometers away. Thus, when a vulture is flying a kilometer above ground, it can easily survey the land. Gliding at speeds of 60 km/h without flapping its wings, a vulture can dive at speeds of 140 km/h when it spots a carcass. Other vultures, noticing this sudden change, quickly follow.

In contrast to its sharp eyesight, a vulture's sense of smell is not developed, so it relies on other animals to locate carcasses.

Vultures have a large crop (esophageal expansion) that allows them to consume a significant amount of food and sustain themselves for days. A vulture that hasn’t eaten for a week can devour over a kilogram of food in one sitting. After such a meal, it's difficult for the vulture to take off, often staying near the remains of the carcass for a day or more.

A Lifetime Partnership

Once a vulture finds a mate, they remain dedicated to each other for life. Together, they build their nests from branches, trimming them with their beaks, and line them with grass. The female lays a single egg, and both partners share incubation duties equally.

The chick hatches with open eyes and a covering of white down. Both parents feed it with regurgitated food from their stomachs. At a month old, the chick already probes its beak into the parent’s mouth to feed. As it matures, the parents vomit the food into the nest for the chick to eat on its own.

Amazingly, during the chick's feeding, the parents often crack open bones to supply it with calcium for building its skeleton! (Who revealed to them that bones contain calcium?) Throughout its development, the chick frequently demands food vocally. The parents continue to keep it warm until it's a month and a half old, never leaving it alone in the nest until it reaches 70 days. By 80-90 days, the chick can already fly short distances from the nest, though its final departure and independence occur at 100-125 days old.

Vultures in Israel

In the past, vultures were abundant in our region, and a century ago, there were thousands across the country. The introduction of firearms led to rampant hunting of birds of prey, including vultures. However, the most significant blow to the vulture population and most other birds of prey in Israel was due to poisonings about 55 years ago, caused by agricultural pesticides. Vultures were poisoned by consuming carcasses of poisoned animals. A vulture that eats a poisoned carcass dies quickly. Besides poisoning, vultures in Israel also suffered from food shortages, particularly in the Negev and Judean Desert, due to the removal of Bedouin herds from much of the area. Additionally, they were impacted by environmental developments, disturbances from hikers and climbers, and disruptions from military aircraft, civilian planes, and gliders near nesting and feeding sites. All these factors nearly led to the extinction of vultures in Israel.

Surveys conducted jointly by the Nature and Parks Authority and the Society for the Protection of Nature in recent decades show that the number of breeding vulture pairs in Israel has not surpassed 130, and in recent years, only around 60 breeding pairs have been spotted. This decline in breeding pairs is an alarming indicator of the grim state of the vulture population, indicating that without action to ensure their survival, vultures in Israel will become extinct.

On the Wings of Eagles

In the "Song of Haazinu," Hashem promises that if we fulfill His commandments, He will care for us like a vulture: "Like an eagle stirring up its nest, fluttering over its young" (Deuteronomy 32:11). Why vulture wings? Because the vulture possesses a unique characteristic: while other birds carry their young in their talons, fearing other birds attacking from above, the vulture fears no other bird. As there are no higher-flying birds, the vulture carries its young on its wings, fearing only humans with arrows, saying, "Better the arrow pierce me than my young." Hashem did likewise, as stated: "And the angel of Hashem moved and went before the camp of Egypt," as the Egyptians fired arrows and catapults at us. The cloud ahead accepted them. Still today, we see Hashem's endless mercies, protecting us over and over from enemies seeking our harm, for "He who watches over Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps."