Hooded Vultures Necrosyretes monachus scavenge on a mass wreckage of large terns in a major HPAI outbreak in The Gambia: a photo report of scraper feeder damage to corpses

Abstract

We report on findings when Critically Endangered Hooded Vultures Necrosyretes monachus scavenged on fresh corpses at a mass wreckage of two large tern species; the death of which was caused by the highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (HPAIV) H5. Observations were made on the south Gambian coast in April 2023. Hooded Vultures scavenged on bare and unfeathered parts such as eyes and mandibular areas and gained access to the skull cavity to feed on brain tissue. Although our group report no resulting cases of infected vultures this raises concern regarding alimentary HPAIV infection as is described for other avian raptor species in Asia, Europe and the Americas, where HPAI H5 viruses of the goose/Guangdong (gs/GD) lineage have established enzootic status in wild bird populations.