Deviation Actions
Description
One of the places we planned to visit while in LA was the LA Zoo. I hadn't been to a zoo in...I really can't remember, honestly, and was excited to walk around and see what sort of animals the LA Zoo had. Before heading there, we stopped over at my friend Jimmy's apartment; Jimmy handed us off a 75-300mm zoom lens, as the most telephoto lens I own is a 100mm prime, and I thought the extra reach would come in handy for shooting animals from a distance - I was right about that.
From the LA Zoo Website:
STATUS: The king vulture is listed as Least Concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
HABITAT: King vultures are residents of dense, tropical forests (or in nearby savannas and grasslands) ranging from southern Mexico into northern Argentina. The bright colors of the head and neck allow for King vultures to recognize one another within the dense habitats in which they reside.
DIET: King vultures are scavengers, meaning they feed on dead animal masses (known as carrion). In captivity, they are fed a vitamin supplemented protein diet of rats, chicken, and raw meat.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS: Excluding the two species of condors (Andean and California), the king vulture is the largest of the New World vultures with a wingspan of about six feet, a head to tail length of about two and a half feet, and can weigh upwards of ten pounds. The head and neck of the king vulture are featherless, preventing bacteria from the carrion from ruining its feather as well as exposing the skin to purifying agents of the sun. Suffering from poor olfactory senses, the king vulture relies heavily on keen eyesight to spot food and other vultures. Unlike other species of vultures, the king vulture has a relatively weak beak; however, their beak specializes in ripping through tough-skinned carcasses, giving them an edge over smaller, competing vultures (from which their title “king” is derived).