How do vultures find dead animals so quickly? Smell, sight, or something else?

Answer 1

Old World Vultures uses sight to find carrion and they also follow large predators to their kill, such as cheetahs and lions. Only two species of New World vultures uses smell as well as sight to find food. They are the turkey and the king vulture.

Answer 2

In the United States we have 2 species of vultures, Turkey and Black. Turkey Vultures have a well developed sense of smell and find carrion that way. Black Vultures are sight oriented. Here in Texas you will see vultures circling with the Black Vultures above the Turkeys. The Turkey Vultures will find the prey and the Black Vultures will follow them in.

Answer 3

The turkey vulture is the only bird of prey with a sense of smell and often other vultures will follow the turkey vulture to the carcass. others will circle above the plains searching for dead or dying animals and hang about waiting for them to die.

Answer 4

2 Things

1) smell. Vultures have great sense of smell, especially to the rotting cacasses (This is kinda cool, but off topic. vultures' nostrils are connected so they can poke a talon through to clean it from rotten meat that gets caught when they eat.)

2) Ever see a group of vultures circling in the air? That's how they tell other vultures in the area that they have found food. If another one sees, it'll join the circling until they all just go and eat.

Answer 5

Normally they fly around surveying the landscape, especially in the dessert where there is a high death rate. But if they see an animal, like a lion for example, they follow the lion after it has killed whatever other animal, and they wait until the lion is done, then they eat. They just wait for one animal to kill, eat, and leave its prey behind. The vultures eat from the hardest places to reach that other animals can't reach.

Answer 6

First by sight. They see the movement of larger predators on a kill. Then by sound,hearing the kill. Then by smell.Unless the carrion has been sitting, then the smell draws them...or they see other vultures flocking.

Answer 7

New world vultures have very large and convoluted nasal passages, indicating that they have an excellent sense of smell. They also can see, of course.

Answer 8

Vultures can find their prey quickly b/c of there acute sense of sight and smeel. The fly where ever it can smell any decaying flesh of animal carcas. This helps them very much, sience they are one of many scavengers.

Answer 9

Smell would be the first, animals noses are more sensitive than ours, then sound (dying animals make horrible noises), and finally sight.

Answer 10

Did you ever hear of the term..."birds eye view?"...well They see and then smell. They have VERY keen eyes.