At the beginning of this month the South African ringing central SAFRING received a report from Coen van den Berg of a lappet-faced Vulture at a Zebra carcass at Sable Dam in Kruger National Park. The bird had a metal ring which was legible thanks to Coen’s great photography (ring number: G19378).
It turns out that this individual was ringed by Dr Pat Benson as a nestling on the 23rd October 1992. Coen saw the individual on the 2nd September meaning this vulture is almost 24 years old! This record outstrips both SAFRING’s previous longevity for the species of just under 10 years, and the maximum longevity for a captive lappet-faced vulture of 23 years. What a great sighting!
You can read more about the sighting on SAFRING’s home page (safring.adu.org.za) or have a look at the record directly (http://safring.adu.org.za/ring_info.php?ring=G19378).
Full credit goes to Coen van den Berg for his amazing photographs of this individual.
