A nestling Lappet-faced vulture.
As you may know from our previous posts (here), we are tracking juvenile Lappet-faced vultures via satellite. As with many animals, the process of maturing is a gradual one for Lappet-faced vultures. After hatching they may stay in their nest for a full 4 months before taking their first flight. After that they develop their flying skills, but are pushed to do this rather quickly because they must search huge areas for their food. The map below is of the movements of a vulture we marked in its nest just before its first flight. Below are a couple of maps illustrating how the vulture has ranged farther and farther from its nest, as time has passed. It is pretty amazing to me that a bird that has only been flying for about a month can travel so far!
Map of movements of a juvenile Lappet-faced vulture during 5 May - 19 June 2022. (Yellow = 5-19 May, Blue = 20 May-3 June, Red = 4-20 June) ©ESO, IAR.
The gradual process of maturation continues after that first flight, and it is only after 5-6 years that the vulture will become sexually mature, and may breed. More about that in future blog posts, so check back for updates.
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