大象传媒

In the Serengeti, Alan Root and Jonathan Scott climb down cliffs to get a better view of vultures. From where they are standing Alan can see a ledge where he once had a hide and filmed vultures nesting. The Ruppell's vultures are huge birds and would probably have a hard time getting around without thermals to ride on. If they see something out on the plains on a wet morning they have a hard job using just their wings to get to it. The warm winds extend their range enormously, and once the thermals start giving them some lift there is a whole line of it that extends right across the Serengeti from the highlands. On a sunny day you can see a row of little clouds with vultures all following that line of lift. The vultures roost and breed in the cliffs, and in the breeding season they can be seen with bits of vegetation. They fight over the best nest sites. It has been estimated that the 40,000 vultures of the Mara Serengeti consume twelve million kilograms of meat and carcass a year. Most of that is wildebeest carcass because the vultures keep on the trail of the wildebeest migration.