<
https://news.mongabay.com/2022/05/in-mexico-a-divine-bird-inspires-a-communitys-sustainable-forestry-efforts/>
"For the ancient Mayans, the king vulture was an intermediary that crossed the
skies, communicating with humans and the gods. Seeing it soar through the air
today, with its wingspan of nearly 2 meters (6.5 feet), it’s easy to understand
why the Mayans saw it as a special bird. But there’s more to it than its flight
that makes the king vulture such a magnificent creature.
The razor-sharp power of its deep white eyes work together with its sense of
smell to locate prey from high altitudes and long distances. Its head, a
palette of reddish tones, has no feathers; this ensures there’s nothing to
cling on for the bacteria inside the carrion that it feeds on. Standing 80
centimeters (31 inches) tall and weighing up to 14 kilograms (30 pounds), the
king vulture (
Sarcoramphus papa) it prevails over other scavenging birds
without even having to start a fight. This is one of the many reasons why
locals and scientists call it the “king.”
The gray plumage around the bird’s neck forms such a compact circle that the
Aztecs called it
cozcacuauhtli, or “collared eagle.” Its elegant white
feathers with black trim, reminiscent of a bishop’s vestments, led the Swedish
naturalist Carl Linnaeus to give it the species name
papa, Latin for bishop.
Despite the many ways to refer to it, the king vulture today represents
something even more important to the community of Nuevo Bécal in the
southeastern state of Campeche: the knowledge that forest management improves
both quality of life for communities and the conservation of wild animals and
their habitats.
“For us … the king vulture is an emblematic species which we are proud of
having and we are committed to conserving through the economic activities that
we promote,” says Lucio López, a forest engineer who leads the surveillance
committee in Nuevo Bécal."
Via
Future Crunch Jun 1, 2022:
https://futurecrunch.com/good-news-ebola-electric-trucks-super-reserve/
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
