Holy Cow!
WE always knew they would eat almost anything… but a whole goat? Now, that is something… even for a vulture.
Incredible as it may seem, this fellow – one of the regular Griffon vultures (Gyps fulvus) around the Grazalema area in Cadiz – managed to pack away at least part of an animal quite a few times its size.
And, according to wildlife photographer Simon Littlejohn, there are no camera tricks involved.
“The bird just suddenly appeared,” he told the Olive Press. “I could not really see what was around its neck until I had a better look at the picture at home.
“You could say I had to do a double take! You could see the bell and leather strap and, amazingly, the bird looked unfazed by it as he soared effortlessly through the Garganta Verde, near Grazalema.
“I can only assume he was feeding on a goat’s carcass when he got the bell looped around his head.”
However, Clive Muir of Wildside Holidays said goat herds sometimes put a bell around a vulture’s neck after catching one of the giant birds on the ground after a big feed… just for fun!
You can see more of Simon’s work at www.wildaslife.com
