Brian Anderson, Vulture behaviours - East Africa (ANIMAL & NATURE 2025)

Across East Africa, vultures are ever present ready to clean up after the meals of the apex predators, such as lions, leopards and cheetahs. A frightening looking large bird, with wingspans around 2 to 2.5 metres, the behaviours of the vultures are fascinating. This series shot over a two week period across South Africa, Tanzania and Kenya, shows a range of vulture behaviours: preparing to nest high in the acacia trees; sitting high in a dead tree waiting for the thermals to form to lift them high above the veld; landing nearby a meal and running in wings spread; and a dominate bird sitting atop the carcass, seemingly controlling the feeding.

Images have been resized for web display, which may cause some loss of image quality. Note: Original high-resolution images are used for judging.