Vultures - Disney Animals

Vultures are an essential part of the food chain—feeding on carcasses of dead animals or on prey after predators have eaten their fill. There are 23 species of vultures worldwide with black vultures and turkey vultures native to the Americas.

At Disney’s Animal Kingdom theme park, look for lappet-faced vultures near the Tree of Life. Over at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge, Rüppell’s griffon vultures can be spotted surveying the savanna. And if you want to see turkey vultures or black vultures at Walt Disney World Resort, just look up in the sky!

Meet the variety of vultures living at Disney’s Animal Kingdom theme park and Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge.

• Lappet-Faced Vulture: The wingspan of this largest African vulture can reach up to 9 feet (2.7 meters). With a massive beak that will tear through the hide of animals as large as buffaloes, this species is called the “king of the vultures.”
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• Rüppell’s Griffon Vulture: Known for their lifelong bonding and socialization, these vultures nest on open cliff ledges in colonies of up to 1,000 breeding pairs.
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• Turkey Vulture: Turkey vulture chicks are born with a dark gray head that changes to a distinctive reddish-pink as they mature. Instead of building nests, they lay eggs (usually 2 at a time) on the ground in dense brush or in hollow logs.
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• Black Vulture: This species is smaller than the turkey vulture and is known for its polite “table” manners. They share food with their family and feed their young for months—even after they have left the nest.

Vulture populations are threatened by hunting, habitat loss and accidental consumption of poisons used to control pest populations.

The Walt Disney Company is committed to saving wildlife and protecting the magic of nature together as a global community. The Disney Conservation Fund* supports nonprofit organizations working with communities living in and near vulture habitats throughout Africa and Asia, discouraging activities that can harm vultures and their habitat.