Rüppell’s Vulture - Gyps rueppellii

In 1852, Alfred Brehm named this bird Rüppell’s Vulture in honour of Wilhelm Peter Eduard Simon Rüppell, a German explorer and naturalist. It has four types of hemoglobin, allowing it to easily cope with the cold and a lack of oxygen. It is said that a Rüppell’s Vulture was killed by a plane at 11,300 metres. It is the highest flying bird ever recorded. The Rüppell Vulture’s role as a “cleaner” is important for nature as it clears up all the dead animals.

CLASS : Aves
ORDER : Accipitriformes
FAMILY : Accipitridae
WINGSPAN : 2.4 m
WEIGHT : 6.8 - 9 kg
CLUTCH SIZE : 1 egg
INCUBATION : 55 days
LIFE EXPECTANCY : 30 years
DIET : it feeds on dead animals and carcasses.
NATURAL HABITAT : it lives in the mountains, in open, arid environments and grassy areas. It nests on cliffs.
RANGE : Africa

Conservation status info

CR : Critically Endangered

This species has been classified as “CR: Critically Endangered” since 2015.

This species has declined significantly in some parts of its range and generally it is suspected of having undergone a rapid decline due to the loss and transformation of its habitat (converted into farming areas), the decline in its sources of food, hunting for trade, persecution, collisions, poisoning and pesticides. Diclofenac, a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug often used on livestock, is fatal for the vultures who feed on the carcasses.