What if there were no vultures?

Vultures get a bad rap, but what if they disappeared from our planet? Learn about the important jobs these birds have and why they may be in danger of extinction. read more

If vultures are not there to clean up the mess, others species arrive such as dogs, rats, mice and crows. When these animals dominate, bad things happen. To begin, changes in animal populations create an unstable balance of “food webs". Since vultures rarely come into contact with humans and dogs may, the potential for disease is high. read more

So, if there are no vultures, then the spread of these diseases would be greatly accelerated. Vultures play a very important role in the balance of ecosystems. They do not hunt for food, but are scavengers, meaning they consume the flesh of animal carcasses, rather than live organisms. read more