Lappet-faced Vulture

The Lappet-faced Vulture was in the past the largest bird of prey in the country until its extinction from the country. The last pair nested in the wild in Israel until the year 1989. The zoo leads, together with the Israel Nature and Parks Authority, the attempt to create a new breeding center and to return the species to the landscapes of the country.

In the past, an older but non-fertile female lived at the zoo in the birds of prey display. In 2025, a new display was established at the zoo near Noah's Ark and the wolf display, to which a pair of Lappet-faced Vultures was brought from Carmel Wildlife Reserve. This pair was the only breeding pair in the country with a moving and special story of acquaintance.

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The founding generation of the Lappet-faced Vulture display at the zoo

This is the story of the first pair of Lappet-faced Vultures that arrived at the zoo: the female "Ketura" was collected exhausted in the wild and brought to the Carmel Wildlife Reserve and joined another female that had been living there for many years already. One day a stray male arrived from the wild and settled at the entrance to the vulture display. At the Israel Nature and Parks Authority, they decided to let him enter into the vulture cage, where he grew stronger and received the Hebrew name "Midyan".

He began to court "Ketura" vigorously, and she even responded to him. Together they built a nest and laid an egg that was taken to the incubator in order to ensure its hatching. The parents received a dummy egg to incubate.

After hatching, the small chick that received the name "Uzi" was returned to the parents who cared for her well. Later the parents were transferred to the zoo, while "Uzi" remained at Carmel Wildlife Reserve.

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The next generation of Lappet-faced Vultures at the zoo

With the death of the elderly "Ketura", it was decided to transfer "Midyan" to the Safari in Ramat Gan. "Uzi", the young daughter of the "founding pair", was transferred to the zoo, and was joined by a mate answering to the royal name "Charles", who was brought specially from England in order to be her life partner. "Charles" was transferred to Israel as part of the breeding program of the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EEP), which enables cooperation between zoos throughout Europe and the Middle East.

Both are still young and in the early stages of building the pair bond, which, if it succeeds, will probably remain until the end of their lives. We are proud of the privilege that has fallen to us to nurture and lead the preservation efforts of this species in Israel, and hope that this pair will yield a magnificent lineage of offspring, and in the future we will be able to return them to Israeli nature.

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Photo: Matan Sharon