As someone who loves birds (especially the big, scary-looking ones that we rarely get to see), witnessing a vulture or hawk or an eagle in action from any vantage point is always exciting.
But the video below, well, this is just next level! A paraglider in Brazil recently encountered a huge, majestic vulture in pretty much the coolest way imaginable, and just so happened to be filming when it happened! As envious as I am, I'm thrilled that he captured this rare, absolutely epic moment nonetheless. Take a look:
I'm not one to use the word "never" loosely, but chances are, this will never happen again. At least not to this lucky thrill-seeker! Can you believe this? I don't know if I'm more blown away by the moment itself or our pal's seemingly fearless demeanor. I'd be stoked, sure, but I'd be pretty freaked out all the same! I guess in moments like this, you just have to let nature take its course. And what a moment it was.
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Also, look how enormous that thing is. It's beautiful! This just really isn't something you see every day, let alone experience. Even though I have so many questions, none of them are really important in the grand scheme of things. The point is... this happened. It's incredible. And I'm jealous.
Are Vultures Dangerous to Humans?
Vultures might get more of a bad rap than they deserve. I mean, they might look scary, but they're actually pretty harmless when it all comes down to it. At least as far as humans are concerned.
The main reason is because these burly birds typically feed on dead animals and really have no reason to attack humans in the first place.
In fact, they're actually pretty helpful if you think about it, as they help clean up all sorts of random waste from our towns and roads. If anything, we should consider them the unofficial street cleaners of the wild. Or, as many also refer to them as: "nature's garbage disposal." Both make perfect sense to me!
So, the short answer is no, they're not dangerous to humans. Just helpful!
Now, this doesn't necessarily mean they're going to greet your feet like our paragliding pal all the time, nor should you assume they're going to be overly friendly, either. Like all birds, the best thing we can do is just happily coexist.
Let them chomp down on the buffet of waste we humans seem to consistently produce and let roam the skies, and in return, they'll happily leave us alone.
Still... this was one of the coolest moments I've seen in a while and although I'm pretty terrified of heights, you might have me a tiny bit more convinced to try paragliding now that I know something like this could possibly happen.
But for now, I'll just keep my trusty binoculars nearby and keep looking up.
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