Beach buffet: First record of White-backed Vultures Gyps africanus feeding on a seal

Vultures are avian obligate scavengers which provide important ecosystem services by efficiently removing carcasses from the landscape. This role has been extended by some species to the coastal environments where they consume marine carcasses (i.e. whales, dolphins, seals and fish). On the African continent, only two species were reported to feed in the coastal ecosystems: the Lappet-faced Vulture (Torgos tracheliotos) on the Skeleton Coast of Namibia and the Hooded Vulture (Necrosyrtes monachus) in southern Gambia. Here we report on the first observation of four White-backed Vultures feeding on a Cape fur seal (Arctocephalus pusillus). This has several ecological and conservation implications, including marine nutrients transfer and potential threat due to accumulation of marine environmental toxicants.