I left my earlier article asking what of the Yellow-legged gulls that had alerted me to the presence of migrating vultures over Gibraltar? Yellow-legged Gulls Larus michahellis breed at the Rock of Gibraltar and the past due spring arrival of Griffon Vultures Gyps fulvus coincides with the time that the gulls have chicks on their nests. Gulls are competitive within the defence in their younger they usually don’t like giant raptors getting shut. Griffons are about as giant as migrating raptors come so they’re the topic of particular consideration.
That is the ultimate hurdle within the onerous adventure of the Griffons that left West Africa and crossed the Sahara Wilderness. Having made it around the desolate tract, they then travelled northwards in opposition to the Strait of Gibraltar. Those giant hovering birds steer clear of lengthy sea crossings however even the 14 km of Strait of Gibraltar will also be tough. In contemporary westerly winds they get displaced eastwards in opposition to the Rock, including an additional 7 km to the crossing. They come exhausted, handiest to be greeted by means of flocks of offended gulls.
The gulls mob the vultures relentlessly and frequently force them into the ocean. The fortunate ones are rescued and rehabilitated at a unit run by means of the Gibraltar Ornithological and Herbal Historical past Society (GONHS) however many others by no means make it.
Griffons are scavengers. They pose no danger to the gulls or their chicks. So why assault them? My droop is that the gulls merely reply to the raptor form. The bigger the form, the extra intense the reaction. This is how they understand danger. What that suggests is that the gulls are creating a mistake every time they price at a Griffon. They waste power and get not anything in go back. Or do they? It’s imaginable that gulls attacking the vultures are measuring themselves towards different gulls and dealing themselves up a pecking order. Gull mobbing could have a standing message between gulls.
Other folks frequently describe the terrible gulls that assault the deficient vultures. The condemnation of the gulls can get slightly sour. But, all of the gulls are doing is protecting their very own. If there are too many gulls, it’s in large part our fault for offering such a lot meals for them. I’ve been following the native gulls with GPS tags they usually spend maximum in their time in garbage guidelines in Spain and Morocco. However why must we taste the gull as enemy and the vulture as buddy?
The Griffons meet a good worse opponent than the gulls after they arrive at Gibraltar. Peregrine Falcons Falco peregrinus additionally lie in wait and protect their very own younger, simply because the gulls do. They, too, will force Griffons into the ocean and kill them. However, to us, Peregrines are the signal of the Aristocracy, agility and energy, so we by no means sentence them in the similar means that we do the gulls. Those are subjective and pervasive attitudes that appear to force quite a lot of nature conservation. We save pandas and tigers, as we must, however we don’t give as a lot concept to the creepy crawlies and different less-attractive creatures that still want our lend a hand.
