# Bone Eater (DD-427)

> The bearded vulture (Gypaetus barbatus) lives in mountains of Europe, Africa and Asia and feeds mainly on bones, which can make up 70 to 90 percent of its diet. Its very acidic stomach digests large bone pieces, and it drops bones too big to swallow from height onto rocks to break them. The footage shows a bearded vulture carrying and dropping a bone.

- Department: Nature
- First published: 2024-12-15
- Last updated: 2024-12-15
- Permalink: https://detailenjoyer.com/case/bone-eater/
- Author: Marcus Easterling (DetailEnjoyer), The Detail Department

## Quick facts

- **DD-427-F01**: Mainly bone. _(Write-up · Exhibit A (Diet))_
- **DD-427-F02**: 70 to 90 percent. _(Write-up · Exhibit B (Share))_

## Write-up

Bone makes up most of the bearded vulture's diet. It drops big bones onto rocks to smash them.

1. **Diet**: Mainly bone.
2. **Share**: 70 to 90 percent.
3. **Acid**: Very acidic stomach.
4. **Dropping**: Drops bones on rocks.
5. **Range**: Mountains of three continents.

## Reel vs. record

- **Note**: None needed.

## Video: Bone Eater: Bone Makes up Most of the Bearded Vulture's Diet

- Duration: 23.5 s · Published: 2024-12-15
- File: https://detailenjoyer.com/assets/videos/DDoBESxq7M1.mp4

### Transcript

Did you know? Bearded vultures have a highly specialized diet, primarily consisting of bones. Up to 90% of their diet is bone material, which they consume to extract the rich nutrients, particularly calcium and marrow. They are equipped with strong stomach acids, capable of digesting bone within about 24 hours. Bearded vultures often pick up large bones and drop them from great heights onto rocky surfaces, a behavior known as bone dropping, to break them into smaller, manageable pieces. NOW YOU KNOW!

## Questions & answers

**Q: What does it mainly eat?**  
A: Marrow. _(Source: Write-up · Exhibit A (Diet) · Wikipedia: Bearded vulture)_

**Q: How does it break bones?**  
A: From height. _(Source: Write-up · Exhibit B (Share) · Wikipedia: Bearded vulture)_

**Q: What digests bone?**  
A: Acidic. _(Source: Write-up · Exhibit C (Acid) · Wikipedia: Bearded vulture)_

**Q: Where does it live?**  
A: Cliffs. _(Source: Write-up · Exhibit D (Dropping) · Wikipedia: Bearded vulture)_

**Q: Scientific name?**  
A: Lammergeier. _(Source: Write-up · Exhibit E (Range) · Wikipedia: Bearded vulture)_

## Sources

- [Wikipedia: Bearded vulture](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bearded_vulture)

## Cite this case file

Easterling, Marcus. "Bone Eater." The Detail Department (DetailEnjoyer), case file DD-427, last updated Dec 15, 2024. https://detailenjoyer.com/case/bone-eater/