The pH of a vulture's stomach is closest to which of these?

Himalayan Griffon in Dolpa

© Sanjog Rai

You’re right—battery acid.

Vultures are fascinating birds, and they keep places clean and reduce the spread of disease. In the US, we have turkey vultures, black vultures, and endangered California condors, but worldwide we’re currently sharing the planet with 23 vulture species.

Vultures eat carrion, feeding on recently deceased animals. By quickly consuming meat and bone fragments before they rot, vultures help prevent the growth of dangerous pathogens. Their stomachs even have the pH of battery acid, which allows them to sterilize the carcass and its immediate surroundings of bacteria that cause botulism and anthrax.

Many people don’t realize that vultures influence human health. In India, for example, hundreds of thousands of human deaths are said to be traced back to the collapse of the vulture population.

See more photos and learn more about these fascinating birds.

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