By Ella Davies
January 31, 2014
bbc.com
"Seven Surprising Facts"
Ugly, bald, and morbid creatures, yet they are crucial to
our ecosystem. Perhaps they should be respected not dejected by mankind. They
feast upon the carcasses left behind by wild animals, stopping the spread of
diseases and also limiting the population of other scavengers. However, these
important creatures now face endangerment in India, Nepal, and Pakistan. Elephant
and tiger poachers kill vultures by the dozens so they do not alert the
authorities to the whereabouts of the poachers. The population of vultures has plummeted ninety
five percent in these countries. Vultures are the infection control agents of
the ecosystem. They also have some unique qualities that most animals do not
possess. Vultures are known to have a huge appetite. Regular hunting animals
consume thirty percent of their prey while vultures clean up the rest. These
creatures also have a dirty little secret; they urinate on their legs every time
after a good meal. The urine of a
vulture consists of acids that sterilize the bird’s legs after standing in
rotting flesh. The most unique characteristic
yet of a vulture is its ability to eat anything. The stomach of a vulture is
known to contain strong stomach acids that dissolve anything from bones of a
wild animal to destroying bacteria such as cholera, anthrax, and also preventing
them from getting ill off of a diseased carcass. Vultures deserve at least a
little respect for what they do because without them, the Earth would be filled
with disease and putrefying carcasses.
Besides being ugly and scary, I am positive that no one, even myself, understand what vultures actually are and what they do. I thought vultures were scary creatures put on this earth for no reason. Learning that they actually help keep the earth clean is amazing. I am sure that they do not realize what they do, they probably only eat because they are hungry. The urinating part was a surprise. Who knew vultures were that smart? Wonderful post Jacqueline. It was super informative.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very interesting article choice, Jacqueline. I never put much thought into vultures and why they exist. Learning about it is quite fascinating. They are unique creatures and the fact that their population has dropped by ninety-five percent is crazy. Hopefully, ways to protect these creatures will be known soon.
ReplyDeleteVultures may be disgusting and mysterious creatures but they are vital to our ecosystem. Thanks to Jacqueline and this blog post, I now realize the significance of these deathly birds. The ecosystem relies on all animal life in order to survive and prosper. The ugliest most absurd animal serves its place on earth.
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