As a paraglider pilot I have flown with vultures and was surprised to learn how smart and playful they are. They are very curious and frequently fly along paragliders and hang gliders. They are our best friends in the sky and I have developed a tremendous respect for these birds.
@@andresv.8880 a lot of freeflight time is spent on the mountain waiting for the right conditions to take off. So we spend a lot of time looking at the sky and with that you can learn a lot about vulture behavior. They frequently fly just out of the joy of flying. Most species are very social and rarely fly alone (just like us :)). You can see them playing with each other, doing 'dog fights' in the air. You can tell there's no real food nearby but they just want to fly. At evenings you can see them enjoying the lift provided by afternoon winds. They'll just hover next to the mountain, again, just enjoying the joy of flying... When we see them circling inside a thermal we rush to join them and you get to fly very close, sometimes just a couple of meters away from the birds. They turn their heads and look at you curiously when that happens. Another interesting thing that happens is that sometimes you don't see any vultures flying... but as soon as a paraglider takes-off and starts gaining height in a thermal, several vultures (who were also just chilling waiting for the right conditions) will take off from their perches in the mountain and join the paraglider inside a thermal. There's a mutual cooperation and love of flight which is amazing.
@@mojojojo3682 oh sorry, I'll keep in mind next time that I need an official letter of approval from every single person on the planet before commenting on a public comment section
@@mojojojo3682 Well I don't see you screwing around with other fun facts in the comments stop being a sad boi about it or you can tell us what does a vulture meant in your own language Who doesn't appreciate a good chance of learning new things , is it you ?
I am from a village in India. My Grandmother used to tell me about vultures in our village. She told me that whenever there was any death of any Domesticated animal in the village they used to cover the whole sky, but these days there are none left, I have never seen one in my life sadly. I wish our Gov too ban the drugs harming these and provide some alternative.
I was biking and saw a group of turkey vultures, they definitely saw me and I was decently close but they were so chill. I love these big birds and I hope conservation efforts are successful, they play an important role.
Every animal, plant, and fungus has a role in the ecosystem. I'm not going to stop using metaphors like leech, parasite, or vulture just because of it.
Woahh really? That’s so high! How can they breathe up there? Correct me if I’m wrong cause I most likely am, but I thought that reaching those altitudes could make it difficult to breathe?
Rosemary Aragon From what I’ve read, they have a specialized variant of the hemoglobin alphaD subunit; this protein has a great affinity for oxygen, which allows vultures to absorb oxygen efficiently despite the low partial pressure in the upper troposphere.
Excellent presentation, thank you for making it available here! Vulture species are critically undervalued, misunderstood, and even vilified over their unique roles. Humans have so much to learn 😢
Actually, Mother Nature did make one mistake: Human Beings. I'm not saying that all Human Beings are bad people, but we have had such a massive, negative impact on the planet during our existence, and this impact has resulted in the extinction of many species of animal. (There are also other negative impacts that Humans have had, too). Also, there are lots of animals on the conservation red list, and although organisations such as the RSPB, WWF, etc are trying to solve the problem, in many ways it is already too late. Sooner or later, Human Beings will be responsible for their own extinction. It's sad but true.
@@HK-ud2iu I don't believe that we were "created", and nobody is equal to anybody, but we all do have one thing in common: we all live on Earth. Our presence, and our modern way of living, has negative impacts everyday. I'm not going to elaborate on that, nor am I going to get into a debate about it. It should be obvious to you just how destructive the Human species is. Oh yeah, I don't have a "warped, twisted mindset". I see reality exactly as it is. Have a nice day. ☺
@@Lumosnight That doesn't sound accurate. TB is contracted from the blood which is boiled in the cooking process. No bacteria or virus can survive 350° heat.
Ghost De Razgriz you can get tuberculosis by handing raw meat, sniffing raw meat or eating steak that is rare. Why do you think farmers spend millions on antibiotics? For the fun of it?
The Parsi community in India is actually breeding vultures because according to their religious and cultural beliefs, carcasses should not be burnt or buried but left for the animals to eat. So they've built structures where they leave dead bodies for vultures to feed. But because vultures were dwindling, these were taking a long time to be cleared up. So they've started a vulture breeding program, that has been quite successful.
@@CoreyMillionaire2029 So you know nothing about Parsi people? They also leave their own dead ones for vultures to eat. They don't burn or bury bodies.
Spain country of vultures No, seriously: I've seen Up to a dozen vultures in a single day from my home...and i live just half an hour from Madrid I've Heard we're giving vultures to other countries so that their native population may recover... specially in the carpathians. Everyday when i go on my way home i go through a "natural park"...when there's a carcass you can see the vultures flying in circles So: If you ever go to Spain, don't forget to look into the Sky, you won't regret It.
@@HK-ud2iu France IS amazing. I'm spanish so i can't really judge, but the way they restore their cities, that's stuff of dreams. I've been to alsace and southwestern France, and i loved both regions. Don't underestimated spain, though, it's very different, not necessaraly worse. Spain IS very diverse and most people just Scratch the surface, just like france...corsica has nothing to do with normandy... just as much as the canaries with Asturias
That is very cool. I lived in Sumter County, Alabama, in the US for many years, in a part of the county that had a high-voltage line passing through. I often hiked to the peak of nearby Bunkum Hill to watched the circling Turkey Vultures from time to time while reading books. I'd stay there until near sunset, when the nearly 100 vultures in that part of the county would come home to roost on the high-voltage towers nearby. It was quite a thrill watching them gracefully glide in to their evening landings, and congregating, around 40-50 on each of the two nearest towers I could see. I'm sure there were plenty more, but they were too far away or obscured by landscape for me to see.
I just love the originality of animation and hard work that TED puts in every single video, it really shows their passion and determination towards entertaining and educating the audience! Heartfelt thanks and love from India 🇮🇳☺️😘
@bananenschip have you flown on a commercial airplane before? Most airlines include one carry-on luggage and/or a personal (backpack or purse that will fit under the seat) depending on the airline and what type of flight: basic, economy, first-class, business, etc.
Thank you for this, Ted-Ed. Vultures get such a bad rap, so it's wonderful to see something that truly advocates just how integral they are. I hope those conservation efforts pay off!!!
Thank you Ted ed for making a not so pleasent topic very nice to eatch. I could watch these while eating. I used to hate vultures, now I appreciate them.
_"How can a bird that feeds on birds be pure?"_ -- Aeschylus Yet the vulture has never been seen devouring the carcass of another vulture, nor does it hunt other birds.
This is so sad to see them going extinct in India. As a kid I was fascinated to see these majistic creatures. It has been more than 10 years since I saw a vulture in India. :(
Wait there were Vultures in our country at least about 10 years ago? I have never seen them in our country, the only way I heard of these birds were from NGC wild, cartoons, etc so I thought like most animals in these channels this bird is not found in India. Damn, they look quite great IRL.
@@titanext130 there still our vultures in india . they are not extint but their pop has declined by more than 98% due to dicofinac . fortunately they are being conserved ,
@@titanext130Yes, I am from Assam and I remember seeing vultures in the sky in our childhood. But, as I grew up I saw a decline in their population and now I have forgotten how many years I haven't seen a vulture in the sky.
Vultures: the best clean up crew!!! As a kid yeah I misunderstood them... Thankful with Ted and other educational media platform that explains how important they are.
And don't forget, this video also contribute to people who don't know yet, about how important Vultures are, (included me) The message about how important Vultures are, can spread in different ways, with catchy animations, hope younger generation can understand, or maybe interest about how important Vultures are
So, of course this is a beautiful message about the importance of biodiversity and eco-conservation, but I would also like to point out how GORGEOUS this animation is.
They may look hideous outside, but they are still loving, and a hero inside. Hello TED-Ed, whoever made and drew this animation, i really love the artwork! and what a majestic voice the narrator has, Keep up the good lessons! And stay safe everyone.
@@andistheinforitbutso7513 Right, I forgot it was all about humans, but the earth itself, the animals and plants don't matter I guess. So, humans destroy the earth and only when it's starting to have consequences for us humans we should be worried......
Exquisite animation! Very calming and clean, and it gives the feel of the comic-like qualities of the vultures. Thank you for educating me again. I don’t really need to know about vultures, but TED-Ed teams make these seemingly quiet topics so interesting and popular.
First of all, I had no idea animals could get TB and secondly I had no idea vultures were so beneficial to the ecosystem, with them being able to digest diseased meat (I knew about the rotting meat, just not diseased). I guess everyone, even the vultures, have a place in this world.
Props to Disney's 1967 animated version of The Jungle Book for not portraying vultures as villains but as regular animals just chilling. They also sort of wierdly remind me of The Beatles.
In my college. I always look up (turkey vulture) to see their huge wingspan. I think of them as brownish angels that clean up the mess. Salutes from the northeast frontier of Mexico.
I highly recommend looking up photos and videos of baby vultures, they’re adorable! New World vulture chicks are basically clouds with legs and heads poking out.
@@asasipogi It's about major decline in vulture population in Asia, especially India. Most vulture species had catastrophic downfall of 99% of population from late 90s to mid 2000s.
1 of my most memorable moments of my life happened when i was in Florida 10 years ago. We were just stopping on a road side to see some gators. I dont know what made me look up but when i did, dozens and dozens of vultures were circling above my head. (They were riding the thermal) I was mesmerized and gained a little obsession for them ever since. Robins are usually the harbringers of spring in Southern Ontario but for me its when the turkey vultires show up. I LOVE seeing them soaring in the sky as i drive my commute.
@Pepito And what, pray tell, would our "role in nature" be? In case you haven't noticed, we're one of few animal species able to consistently and regularly overrule our own instincts via innate logical thinking ability. Instinct to self-preservation? Many people daily throw away their own well-being for the sake of others they don't even share blood-ties with (soldiers taking bullets for others, firemen risking their necks by getting strangers out of burning buildings, etc). Instinct to procreate and pass down one's genes? Nope, many people are lifelong bachelors who never marry nor have children by choice, not because they couldn't score. Instincts to lie down and sleep at night? Nope, many people stay up at night well past when our biology would reasonably have us to get work done and/or because they just want to (i.e. for late parties). Sure, maybe a few other species can also overrule what their instincts tell them, but not nearly as casually or regularly as we can. Fact is, humans _have no defined "role" in nature;_ if there is one, there's no way to objectively prove which it is (and no, it wouldn't be "protecting the environment" since we could only reasonably be obligated to reverse the damage humankind has specifically done to the world's climate, not keep checks-and-balances over environmental change that happens naturally w/o our influence). I'm all for aiding animal species that humans have screwed over and reversing what we've artificially done to the environment to live in stability with nature, but as far as each and every human being trying to practice some "natural role" in nature? Bull. Deal with it.
i went to a week long camp in 6th grade called north bay, and they had a lesson on vultures, and we were trying to count them, and just when we finished, we saw a bunch of vultures just appear! it was really fun.
As always, these ted stories regarding environment teaches us what goes around comes around. We human beings will always have to face the consequences of our act
