Vulture News 72 July 2017 Coprophagy of African Wild Dog faeces by Hooded Vultures in Botswana Richard P. Reading1,2*, Botilo Tshimologo2,3, and Glyn Maude1,4 1Raptors Botswana, Maun, Botswana 2Okavango Research Institute, University of Botswana, Maun, Botswana 3BirdLife Botswana, Gaborone, Botswana 4Department of Research & Conservation, Denver Zoological Foundation, Denver, CO, USA *Corresponding author:
[email protected] http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/vulnew.v71i1.5 Coprophagy by vertebrates is rare, coprophagy to obtain iron, B12, fatty especially among birds and species acids, protein, rare nutrients (Soave that consume the faeces of other and Brand 1991). species (Soave & Brand 1991, While tracking African wild dogs Hirakawa 2001, Shimada 2012). (Lycaon pictus) as part of a While New World Vultures practice behavioural study in the Okavango coprophagy (Del Hoyo et al. 1994, Delta region of Botswana, we Buckley 1999, Blanco et al. 2013), observed coprophagy behaviour by the only Old World vulture we could Hooded Vultures (Necrosyrtes find that consumes faeces is the monachus). Hooded Vultures often Egyptian Vulture (Neophron accompanied wild dogs in northern percnopterus) (Negro et al. 2002, Botswana. In March, 2010, while Hidalgo et al. 2009). Egyptian with a pack of dogs that had recently Vultures feed on the faeces of killed a male Greater Kudu ungulates, apparently to obtain (Tragelaphus strepsiceros), we carotene (Negro et al. 2002), while observed several Hooded Vultures. New World vultures apparently are While the dogs rested near the kill, searching for undigested prey or the vultures picked at scraps of the nutrients that have difficulty carcass and followed the dogs to obtaining elsewhere (Del Hoyo et al.