Movements of a juvenile Lappet-faced vulture in the first month after fledging.©ESO, IAR.
The process of becoming independent for nestling Lappet-faced
vultures is a progressive one, much like it is with many species. Our tracking
has illustrated this. After tagging, the
nestlings spent some days in the nest, then made short, then ever longer
excursions away from the nest. The map
above shows the movement of a juvenile Lappet-faced vulture for the first month
after tagging.
At the beginning the young birds were mostly fed by their
parents, but as they wandered more widely, they encountered food and fed
themselves. Over time they came to be
entirely independent of their parents for the direct provision of their
food. The map below shows the same
vulture from above, but during its 3rd month after tagging.
Movements of a juvenile Lappet-faced vulture in the 3rd month after fledging.©ESO, IAR.
Once independent of their parents, vultures of all ages benefit from
having other vultures and scavenging birds around because it helps them locate
their food (dead things), which may occur only very rarely across huge
areas. In that way they are not really
independent, but rather interdependent with the other scavengers. The
result is that, over time, vultures travel huge distance, especially during
the non-breeding season. The map below shows the cumulative movements of a
young Lappet-faced vulture until 5 October 2022 (4 months of tracking).
Movements of a juvenile Lappet-faced vulture during the first 5 months after fledging.©ESO, IAR.
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