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Vulture pictured fighting jackal for wildebeest

The moment a giant vulture fought off more than 30 other birds and a jackal to eat a wildebeest has been caught on camera in a series of stunning pictures.

*This image is copyright of its original author

A hungry jackal got more than he bargained for when an enormous Lappet-faced vulture with a 12ft wingspan interrupted his meal in the Serengeti in Tanzania.

The scenes were captured as the Lappet-faced vulture with a 12ft wingspan took control of the dead animal.

The jackal even got the bird of prey's talons in its back as it attempted to pick off some meat.

The other birds and scavengers waited until the huge vulture had flown off before they returned.

Robert Fuller, a British photographer, shot the scenes in the Serengeti in Tanzania.

The 36-year-old was returning from taking photos of the wildebeest migration and cheetah cubs when he spotted dozens of vultures picking over a carcase.
He set up his camera and recorded the carnivorous squabble that followed.
There were over 30 smaller Rüppell's griffon vultures feasting when their enormous counterpart arrived.
It scared them off and then attacked the jackal before returning and eating.
Mr Fuller, from Thixendale, North Yorks, said: "A colleague and I had been photographing a cheetah and her six cubs and were returning when we saw the wildebeest.
"Some hyenas were leaving it and some vultures, mainly Rüppell's griffon vultures with a few white backs, came down to feed.
"Then I saw the Lappet-faced vulture, Africa's largest with a three metre wingspan, overhead and quickly trained my camera on him, waiting for landing shots.
"It soon became clear he was not messing around and flew directly to the kill, right into a heap of 35 vultures.
"As he landed, he managed to get one vulture in each of his talons, another one in his bill, while also flattening four with each wing.
"With the sheer force of his entrance, the vulture had already taken care of 11 rivals and quickly scared off the other 24.
"It ate ferociously before the jackal approached the wildebeest.
"The vulture immediately attacked and dug its talons into the jackal's back and dragged it seven or eight metres through all the other vultures.
"The Lappet-faced vulture then returned to finish its meal and only when it had flown off did the others move back.
"The incident went on for 40 minutes and the noise was incredible."

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/wildlife/7858482/Vulture-pictured-fighting-jackal-for-wildebeest.html

This is the most aggressive vulture with the largest and strongest beak of all vultures and birds of prey. Reply