Mourning

So I’m sad to tell that the Black Vulture family didn’t make it. First let me tell there were no predators involved. However I am showing step by step what they did. Moreover I thought it was very touching, though sad watching them taking of care of the now dead embryos. Now nature moves on.

On Thursday morning, the parent still tended to the eggs.

Here they are rolling the eggs all around which they had never done. The most they had done was move them only a little bit. Moreover they seemed to be listening to the eggs as they inspected them each day.

At this point an egg had been broken open. And they preceded to eat the yolk.

Next one freed the more developed embryo. Few more minutes passed and they continued eating the egg shells.

Then the last act in which the parent gently picked up the body. Additionally there were no pieces of the egg shells left, only the remains of one embryo.

Hearing another vulture overhead they left. However they did come back about hour later looking over the scene.

Furthermore they came back again today for another look inside the well house. The parents sure seemed to be mourning their loss.

Tomorrow I will continue with the Tuesday’s grasslands visit.

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Stand Up for Science! Our lives depend on it.

Keep looking!

The more you know, the more you see and the more you see, the more you know