Hyenas, jackals and vultures: the scavengers of the Savannah [video]

During my safari, the attention of my customers focuses especially on the most known predators such as lions, leopards, cheetahs, or on large mammals such as elephants, giraffes, buffalos and others.

In Tanzania is also possible to spot animals like hyenas, vultures and jackals, less “paparazzi”, but important in nature because they are the scavengers of the savannah: eat entrails, bones, tendons, all that remains of the meal of the big cats, their presence it is critical to prevent the spread of diseases among wild animals.

Certainly less fascinating then Lions, Cheetahs and Leopards, but their presence is crucial maintaining the delicate balance of Savannah.

In the video we see some vultures and eagles contending the rest of a wildebeest in the Serengeti, back a jackal is looking for another carcass. There is also a Kori Buster but this bird is not a scavenger like the others in this video.

The vulture head and neck are bald  to penetrate the carcasses without getting dirty. The jaws of the hyena exert a pressure of 800 kg per square centimeter for chopping and even eating bones and hooves of the prey, a much higher pressure of the lion’s bite.

For more information about the safari in Tanzania you can check out my site Savannah Explorers.