Opinion: Let’s all be grateful for vultures
Few people would disagree that Walt Disney was, in his own way, a genius. He helped design characters and plots that people have loved for more than sixty years.
A Disney movie that I enjoyed watching when I was younger was “The Jungle Book”. When I was a kid, I liked it because it had fun music and most of the characters were animals. However, as I’ve gotten older, I appreciate a truth hidden in it.
Vultures are stereotyped by most of society as somewhat evil. They’re dark, gruesome, and where the grim reaper has been, vultures are sure to follow. Yet, Walt Disney chose to portray vultures in his film as friends to Mowgli. They even have a short clip where they sing “we’re your friends”.
If vultures could actually sing, I’m sure that they’d be crooning the same message to us.
But since they can’t, I am.
For the bad reputation that they have, vultures do things for us that only the very best of friends do — they protect us from potential disasters.
For over a year now, the world has been handling the COVID-19 pandemic, so it’s safe to say that everyone understands the serious damage a disease or virus can do. Still, though, an understanding of how Coronanvius compares with other diseases and viruses helps us to see how much we need vultures.
Coronavirus kills 8-12% of people hospitalized for it. (Keep in mind that’s only the mortality rate of hospitalizations). Now consider the following deadly diseases: botulism, anthrax, and rabies.
The world health organization considers botulinum toxin (which is produced by a couple of different bacteria) to be one of the “most lethal substances known”. Foodborne botulism kills 5-10% of all people who get it.
Anthrax causes “severe illness” in both animals and people. It kills more than half of people who inhale it and are treated for it aggressively. It kills over 90% of people who inhale it and are untreated.
Finally, rabies is one of the world’s deadliest diseases, killing 99% of the people who get it.
And yet these diseases, that wreak havoc on the human race, are easily bested by our knight in shining armor, the vulture.
These are just a few of the many diseases that vultures, the macrophages of the world, engulf for us.
These deadly diseases stand no chance in a vulture’s stomach, which is so acidic that it can actually dissolve metal.
If we didn’t have vultures, these diseases would be a lot more prevalent in our society. We would be in an eternal pandemic.
The best example of this occurred in India. In Africa, Asia, and Europe, vulture populations are on the decline. When this occurred in India, the number of feral dogs also increased. With fewer vultures to eat “disease-ridden carcasses,” the dogs did it — and they got sick. From 1992-2006 about 48,000 people in India died from rabies after being bitten by a feral dog.
This is only a snapshot of what our existence would be like without our feathered friends.
A lot of people hate on vultures because they look (and seem to act) creepy, but their appearance and behavior help them to survive and thrive.
Their bald head, which some see as gruesome, is easier to clean, and their hooked beaks are perfect for tearing up carrion. The classic horaltic pose (their wings spread wide) that vultures make isn’t a bad omen – it’s just trying to get warm!
So don’t let the vulture’s dark appearance and bad reputation scare you off. It’s a greatly misunderstood bird, and we should all be grateful for vultures!
Emeline Haroldsen is a dual Mathematics and Biochemistry major. She’s originally from Maryland and she enjoys most forms of physical activity, playing the piano, and completing her homework on time.
emeline.haroldsen@usu.edu