Summary: Few species have been disparaged and misunderstood as vultures. Nature's "garbage disposal" is capable of digesting harmful bacteria that would kill most others. This long-lived and slowly reproducing group is nearing extinction not as a direct target of human activities but as an indirect and innocent participant in the very scavenging it evolved to do. Michael Mace of San Diego Zoo Global dispels some myths, describes their importance to human health, and explains threats from poachers and ranchers.
