Black vultures in flight in the Gorges du Tarn et de la Jonte. The black vulture doesn’t nest in the cliffs of the Tarn and Jonte Gorges like the other vulture species, but on the tops of trees such as oak, Scots pine or Austrian black pine, or juniper, which are relatively load-bearing trees.
This vulture takes third place when it comes to tasting food left behind by previous vulture species. It takes part in killings, feeding primarily on the fleshy parts of corpses, i.e. skin, cartilage and tendons, thanks to its robust beak.
Reintroduction of the Black Vulture in France
Vultures and their nests, Gorges du Tarn.DID YOU KNOW?
Each species of vulture has different characteristics. Here are those of the Black Vulture.
Some twenty pairs of black vultures currently live in the Grands Causses and 8 in the Gorges de la Jonte. Today, this species reproduces more slowly than Griffon vultures, as the reintroduction was mainly carried out with juvenile birds not yet old enough to reproduce. They also need a longer acclimatization period. What’s more, they are less able to withstand disturbance than other species, which makes them more fearful and less able to procreate. Finally, weather conditions are sometimes unfavorable to them, as they nest in treetops.
The black vulture is less easily seen than the griffon vulture, and you have to be very lucky to spot one in the Gorges du Tarn et de la Jonte!
Griffon vultures, Egyptian vultures and bearded vultures…
