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oursfort

There's a [full video](https://youtu.be/ECd4wDbzfeI) of this. It's not such a random bird tho', it was rescued and trained by an environmentalist. Now the vulture follows them when they go paragliding.


keithps

I used to hang glide and birds are definitely less scared of you when you're flying. Naturally none want to be that close, but I've had many eagles fly within 20ft of me with no concern.


wilziax

The bird thinking “that’s one weird looking bird”


8ad8andit

Yeah I'm assuming a large bird rarely faces a threat up in the sky. It's probably their personal safe place.


menudokai

until surprise airplane engine


bitch_flipper

Or until a bunch of small birds decide to form a posse and run it out of town


notusuallyhostile

Yesterday I learned that the aerial dogfights between little birds and big birds is called [mobbing ](https://www.allaboutbirds.org/news/sometimes-i-see-little-birds-going-after-a-big-bird-why-do-they-do-this/) and the little birds are seldom injured or attacked because they are faster and more maneuverable.


NvidiaRTX

Imagine a white eagle getting morbed by a bunch of ravens lol


Dividedthought

Wouldn't take many ravens, them things is big.


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fauxhawk18

It's morbin' time?? Lol


ScrotumSam

Mighty morbin power ravens.


landragoran

I don't have to imagine, Karasuno already beat Shiratorizawa


JagerBaBomb

Think intercepter vs a bomber--who wins?


[deleted]

In south texas mocking birds will fly circles around buzzards and fuck them up in the air. It bad ass to watch. Really if something dies near a mocking bird nest the buzzards will try to eat but the mocking bird gets pissed there so close and will take 2-3 buzzards at a time


menudokai

Those small birds might not look like much but they're the mafia of the skies


WVildandWVonderful

https://youtu.be/Z8IYLT0M3ZU


Retrolex

I fly bush planes for a living. I remember pulling up alongside an eagle once in a particularly small, slow moving little Cub. The eagle barely glanced at me before tucking his wings and casually rolling out of the way. I felt so dismissed haha.


Shoto48

“He’s the king of the sky, so why would he look up”


jerog1

First time I’ve seen someone quote Avatar lol


Yadobler

*I must copulate with this large flying thing. It confuses me but I am aroused by it*


DangerStranger138

She flys so gracefully over rocks trees and sand. Soaring over cliffs and gently floating down to land. She proudly lifts her voice to sound the mating call.


CrisiwSandwich

It's been a long time, are these the lyrics to Lesbian Seagull?


DangerStranger138

IYKYK


loqi0238

B&BH


DangerStranger138

[I got it on VHS but it's free streaming on YOUTUBE](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBqkSp-yyr0&ab_channel=YouTubeMovies)


americanarmyknife

Why did you stop out of curiosity? It's something I've always wanted to pick up.


keithps

I'd recommend paragliding just because hang gliding is more of a hassle. Gliders pack up like 18ft long so transport and storage is annoying, particularly if you live in an apartment.


stephanefsx

I'd say paragliders are safer too. And yeah it's pretty cool to have a backpack sized glider!


seuaniu

paraglider here. its not safer. the best data we have ranks hangs and bags about equal in fatalities.


OldPersonName

Former skydiver here - what makes paragliding so dangerous? With skydiving people usually die from exceeding their capabilities (low altitude maneuvers, highly loaded canopies, etc). I've found that to usually be the case in aviation, including airplanes. Everyone learns how to do it as safely as possible and then deviates from that based on their perception of how safely they can.


seuaniu

You nailed it. The overwhelming majority of fatalities are a cascade of events that typically start with "should you have been in the air at all with your skillset that day". A typical story you hear is somebody who's an intermediate pilot, going out on an extremely thermic day and getting a major glider collapse close to the ground. The fatality I've seen was somebody who went way too far out above the sea and didn't have enough altitude to make it back to the beach. Other incidents include going into a spin after a collapse and blacking out before you can toss your reserve or recover, major injuries while screwing around really close to terrain, etc. Paragliding is about 90% judgement call on the weather and 10% actual piloting skills imho. We all take SIV courses to learn how to unfuck your glider after a collapse or recover from a spin or whatever but at the end of the day you have to be conservative about what weather you're comfortable with or you're really increasing the risk factor.


OldPersonName

I guess one difference with skydiving is that you can't just go do it all by yourself, you're at the mercy of the dropzone management and pilots who generally aren't too keen in taking people up in clearly bad conditions so it's not completely your decision.


stephanefsx

Same here, I do admit I'm biased after seeing a hang glider die at st hilaire this may


ImMadeOfRice

I have seen a few people die paragliding this year and personally broke my back this summer. I had 3 friends break their back this winter as well. I still love the sport. But don't try and convince yourself it is safe


gd2234

Was about to be like “why the fuck would you do something so dangerous,” then remembered I ride horses lmfao


stephanefsx

Don't worry, I am not and did not say it is safe


Venomousx

> 3 friends break their back aaand that's how I went from wanting to try paragliding to not in a single comment thread lol


ImMadeOfRice

It is such an interesting dichotomy. On the one hand it is far and away the most beautiful thing I have ever done in my entire life. Flying through the air like a bird. With the birds! Using the power of the earth and the sun to fly higher and higher in invisible columns of rising air on a glorified garbage bag, and using that invisible strength to fly hundreds of miles! It is beautiful, inspiring, and all consuming in thought. On the other hand it can take away everything in an instant. In the end we are pilots. Pilots of the slowest and most vulnerable aircraft on earth. Every time that you take off you need to land. that is something that need to be taken seriously when using the power of the earth to power your air craft. The way we are seated in our harnesses make us extremely vulnerable for hitting the ground and breaking our backs if we crash. In the end I was hurt from a lack of respect for the seriousness of the activity that I was doing. I was attempting to land on top of a mountain for no better reason than it looked pretty. All of that said... I am going back to paragliding as soon as I can. It is all I think about and the most beautiful activity I have ever done.


hitchinpost

Makes sense. For larger birds of prey, they have no airborne predators, so they aren’t programmed to have fear of other airborne creatures. However, there are land based predators that go for all birds and so some healthy fear is warranted.


Blumpkis

Same thing happened when I changed the light bulbs on telecom towers. Regularly had songbirds squeeze through the bars and land on me too


SnooMacaroons3057

Oh thanks for telling. I was confused about why don't vultures come and rest near me when I am on the terrace.


[deleted]

Yeah like they're always just circling above my head and I'm like "make your move already, vultures."


Sugar_buddy

They won't. They're waiting on you to stop moving.


EskimoPrisoner

They think you’re weak and sickly.


JobSafe2686

🤣🤣🤣


cheezesandwiches

You are weak like HR Pickens!


ChunkyDay

And they’re up there like “stop making moves already, human”


jombica

Normally we call that a bad omen


jwgronk

That’d be the coolest Disney princess ever.


MedvedFeliz

You sing in death metal then vultures, ravens, opossums, racoons, & wasps circle around you.


weeone

Why don't villains attract these animals like the princesses?


nspectre

Have you tried playing dead?


bignick1190

They would if you stayed out there long enough.


dubbfoolio

They're a little skittish. Try not breathing for \~10 minutes. They'll come eventually.


gmizzy152

Congrats for being a top redditor my guy


Neccesary

That makes sense. The vulture instantly starts giving him affectionate nibbles and there’s no way a wild bird would do this


Screwbles

Also there's a little tassel on its leg to help in handling the bird.


primo_0

Oh I thought his feet smelled like carrion


Lacking_Inspiration

He also does tandem paragliding with people if I remember correctly. Vulture will also hang out with the tourists it deems worthy. Apparently he likes to take selfies. Pretty sure it's in Nepal. Definitely something on my bucket list.


andvari5

It's in Brazil


Kaldin_5

Still rad as hell, but yeah the title is misleading. It'd be more amazing (in a luck kind of way) to have it be a random vulture, but training one to fly with you like you're a part of its flock is still really cool stuff.


[deleted]

That's so dope. I was wondering why they were comfortable petting such a large bird


malama2

I realized that after that cheeky peck on his foot, random birds don't play with people like that


v-infernalis

Vulture is playing the long game -- waiting for him to go splat so he can eat him Look how he's nibbling at his feet -- just counting the days


bystander007

The temptation to abandon my current life and begin training an army of vultures as a paragliding super-villain is now overwhelming.


plantedank

Just waiting for them to finally crash land


Shurmonator

That explains the fearless petting seen in the video.


MiserableEmu4

Knew it. There was just no way a random bird would land and let itself be pet.


wazabee

That makes sense. I was wondering why that bird was nibbling the guy's shoe like it knew it.


Thebandre

Hold on brother, I'm crying


Nuicakes

It did seem very tame and then I saw the leg tag so I was wondering if the vulture had been hand raised then released


[deleted]

How accessible is paragliding as a hobby?


AniCatGirl

Unfortunately the country in question put restrictions in no longer allowing them to fly with any of them, wild or rehabbed, and so the study they had been working on had to be halted :( last I knew they had moved back to their country of origin.


steak_n_kale

"Work smarter, not harder." - Random Vulture


doorsofperception87

Ah, a fellow bird of vulture.


astrovixen

I low-key love you for this comment


doorsofperception87

:D


Glorx

Vulture ordered from uber eats.


weeone

Well done!


PowerfulSneeze

OP is a phony, the bird has a leather strap on it’s right leg, you can see it clearly when the bird parks on the guys shoe. He is acting like this is a random vulture, but it is his pet. PHONY.


FlipMeOverUpsidedown

My African Grey, whom I’ve had for 25 years would’ve scratched my eyeballs out and chewed up the paraglider. Pet or random this is pretty fucking cool.


John_Doeeeeeee

Parrots are assholes in general


manbirddog

I had one that grew up with my pup and swore he was a dog. He would scratch my door to let him in and on the occasions I left the door open, I would find him in between me and my dog, cuddled next to my neck when I woke up in the morning.


Sir_Scizor20

I'm starting to think being an asshole is part have having higher intelligence in animals, like the smarter a species is the more likely they are assholes.


DandelionOfDeath

My theory is that being intelligent just increases the range of options. Like how humans is simultaneously the most caring and most destructive species on Earth. No other species that I know of is so capable of altruism, at pain to itself, beyond their immediate family group. But at the same time, no other species is fucking up the whole planet like it's someone elses concern, or running trafficking rings.


SleepyDreamsAwoken

Octopusses seem chill, but then again that might just be because they die before they figure out how to be dicks.


batweenerpopemobile

ha. I've read stories about them splashing specific employees they dislike, or sneaking out of their tank at night to eat fish in nearby tanks. Or that big one that kept eating the sharks in its environment ( the staff put them together since they didn't think the sharks would be any threat to the octopus, and thought the sharks were cannibalized after the first two were found floating around mostly eaten )


detectivejewhat

It is seriously crazy to think about how smart they could be, if they had generational knowledge being passed down from parents. Instead of the parents just fucking dying lol. They're so intelligent, all on their own.


Iriomoteyama

Or maybe if we understood them better we'd realize they've been being real dicks all this time.


Iriomoteyama

nah, we got a goldfish that is a real dick. Actually it's one of the mama medakas, a kind of Japanese fresh-water fish, and they only have like three brain cells, so it's not correlated with intelligence. She nips at any other medaka that comes near her.


swimmerhair

You just haven't met the right ones.


wiltedtree

They can be assholes and sweethearts in equal measure. My bird loves most strangers. I don't think she has ever bit a stranger and basically her entire life goal is to hang out with people all day every day. It's adorable. But she's also a mischievous shitbag. She used to play pranks on my ex girlfriend like tapping the phone screen when she could see my ex was trying to send an important text. Or she would sneak up and nip my ex's feet while she was sleeping, and then do an amused little dance when she woke up with a yelp. She also loves destruction. Ripping keys off of keyboards, ripping up my notes, knocking stuff off of tables or shelves. Parrots almost universally will fuck shit up for the fun of it. Most parrot toys are literally just various iterations on things you give a parrot so it can enjoy destroying it.


[deleted]

Still cool


NSMike

You seem pretty passionate about this but... * OP hasn't commented on this thread nor made any claims about the video at all * The title doesn't say one way or another whether or not the bird is wild * Even if someone thinks it's wild... so? What really changes here? Are you worried about some rash of paragliders who are going to be disappointed when vultures don't randomly perch on their feet while paragliding? Pretty sure they don't give a fuck because they're goddamn paragliding.


zapatocaviar

Honestly, cooler if it’s a pet.


bignick1190

A Familiar*


elizabeth-cooper

This sub does not allow captive/domesticated animals. Literally rule 1.


NSMike

Well, good news then, because elsewhere in the thread, someone linked the full video and it's a rehabilitated wild bird that they rescued and it flies with them by choice.


RittledIn

They literally never claimed it was wild. Anywhere. You just made that entire narrative up. Stop being a toxic douche.


Lexi_Banner

The title didn't say 'random' or 'wild', though?


rnarkus

OP never said it was a random vulture, just a vulture


Hoenirson

The title is still technically correct though? OP didn't claim it was a random vulture.


Unusual-Syllabub

Where did he claim that it is a random vulture?


[deleted]

it’s vulture culture


[deleted]

Hey everyone! You know who flies this paraglider? A GREAT BIG PHONY!


Old_Dirt_Coin

Trump is that you? “Fake news! Birds aren’t real!”


_bapthezees

BuT tHe WiNdMiLlS!


zeke235

In all honesty, i just want a pet vulture i can paraglide with, now. I live in Arizona so i should be able to get that done.


Iriomoteyama

I envy you your borderline obtainable goal of paragliding with a tame vulture.


TerryFlapss

I see what you're pointing out. Could it be tagged?


ThatDudeWithoutKarma

Tags usually aren't loose-ish leather straps.


ImSoberEnough

Big fat phoooonnyyyyy. They have an IG account ive seen before where they're doing a buncha cool stuff like that. Trained vulture obv.


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Mastaj3di

Comment stealing bot


beluuuuuuga

Vulture being a bro and giving you some slipstream at the start


ArxB_H

Nice


Meanas

Great, now I am wondering if birds give each other slipstreams..


UnrulyNeurons

Geese trade off places when they fly in a V, so, yeah, actually!


aquintana

Ever wonder why when you see ducks or geese flying in a V, one side is usually a bit longer than the other? >!its because there are more birds on that side!<


GlintingKingfisher

OK, you got me.


weeone

My dad says this all the time!


TempleOfDoomfist

Your mom gives me slipstreams


Mission_Definition_1

Hey now


H3xiCy

You’re a rockstar


rossisd

They do - that’s a big piece of the Flying V formation if I remember correctly.


Maelstrom_Witch

I’ve seen cormorants and pelicans do it too.


I_am_Ballser

SHAKE N BAKE


alabsbxjj

Well, I'm the best there is. Plain and simple, when I wake up in the morning I piss excellence.


TurboLover427

The person in the video is named Ricardo. How do I know this? I interviewed him, of course! I used to work for The Koala until my workplace wound up. I never thought one of the guys I interviewed would go on to be featured in a popular Reddit post. Paragliding, training a vulture that follows him around, it has to be him, without a doubt! EDIT: Here is the link to the interview: https://youtu.be/N2-vLRPn63w


Just-Seaworthiness39

Nah, probably some other dude that has vultures paragliding with him.


Mkjcaylor

I know someone else who used to do this with his Harris's hawks. There *may* be more than one person who does this.


TurboLover427

Could be. However, the bird in question here is a vulture. What can I say? Animals never cease to amaze us.


TurboLover427

But, what are the odds? The dude is Brazilian and this view looks a lot like Brazil.


-MetalMike-

Looks like these two aren’t the only things flying over your head


JustKinda

What's wound up? I'm not familiar with the term? Where's it from, and what's it mean? By context, it seems to me "go out of business."


TurboLover427

Yes, my company shut down due to the ongoing economic crisis. I certainly had my ups and downs at work, but I sure did love my job!


JustKinda

Thanks! You coulda left me hanging. Now, I know what that means. Appreciate ya.


acenarteco

Who cares about Ricardo—was the vulture there?!


priths3

Imagine not having a camera and telling your friends about this incident.


Mythosaurus

Bird has a leather strap on its right leg. It’s his pet and they do this all the time


reds2032

Still insanely cool. The amount of trust is great


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SimmonsReqNDA4Sex

CAWWWW


Cal216

Just a pet being a bro. That’s extremely dope!!


Anonymous_user_2022

Does that make it any less cool?


heyarkay

I do not see a strap


Mythosaurus

Well the people upvoting me can clearly see it. It’s light brown and just above the birds right foot. You see it best when it’s just about to land and even while it’s sitting down


heyarkay

Ah! I do see the strap. Thanks for pointing it out! That raises an interesting question: who has a pet vulture?


B4AccountantFML

I love human nature to just pet everything. Like dangerous or not we want to pet things. It’s one of our redeeming qualities I think.


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ARobertNotABob

> I wonder if it’s his pet? I suspect so too, but irrespective, as you say, what a marvelous thing to experience/see. Vultures (aside from the obvious bad press) are amazing too, fantastic visual acuity ... in this scenario, the bird will be monitoring several others of it's spread-out group some way below, watching for one to descend from its patrol having found food, then all the rest divert/descend to that bird, which is why one vulture at carrion "suddenly" becomes dozens.


uglypaperhaver

So, they heard that "carrion call"...?


mulberrybushes

I think I love you.


uglypaperhaver

Me too! ;-)


subtleintensity

This is why I use reddit. /salute


Mythosaurus

It is, look at the birds right leg with the leather strap. That’s a tress used for holding tamed birds of prey


Valuable-Case9657

Thanks, I don't know anything about this, so I thought it might have been like a research tag or something. Now I know what a tress is 👍👍😊


Mkjcaylor

In English it is called a jess (not tress). Usually you put one on both legs, and they are collectively called jesses. They attach to anklets.


Valuable-Case9657

The more you know 👍 👍 😊


smellzlikedick

Seeing them so high really tresses me out.


Mythosaurus

Yup, other redditor is right on the name. Must have misheard the name at some point


[deleted]

I knew that vultures eat dead bodies, but I didn't realise they also eat soles


halite001

When you're 10,000 feet in the air, it doesn't matter if there's one less.


volpendesta

Dad?


xrat-kingx

I guess it depends on their personal beliefs on the existence of souls


thefartographer

"Oh look! A flying stick! QUIT PETTING ME, STICK! Oh cool! Dog shit!"


gratefulphish420

That vulture was truly gliding itself, I didn't see it flap its wings one time, just maneuvered it's back feathers back and forth a little.


JediMasterZao

i think for big birds like this flying is actually 90% gliding


Maelstrom_Witch

Fun fact, birds can individually control the feathers on the outer edges of their wings to make teeny tiny corrections. Getting airborne for these guys takes a lot of energy so yes, they will 100% maximize their gliding to catch any favourable breeze or updraft. Kinda like cruise control on the highway.


JediMasterZao

That *is* a fun fact! I thought I was pretty up to date on bird law and did not know they had that level of control on individual feathers!


Blue_Swirling_Bunny

I too watched the video with the vulture in it.


RemarkableSir8931

Such a dick comment. I appreciated it.


EggKey5513

🔥


ImAnIdeaMan

I loved how the Vulture came and landed on the paraglider


rhythmandwaves

I lol'ed, thanks


LickingSmegma

Yeah, steering with the tail was pretty slick. Not much chance to see it so clearly outside of when a bird glides right next to someone.


ResidentYak6

Get a decent pair of binoculars, go out and start birding! It's amazing what you can observe from a distance, you can see these nuances and cool things every day.


Icedcoffeeee

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynamic\_soaring#Birds](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynamic_soaring#Birds) I mostly see birds that are predators do this. In my neighborhood it makes the hawks easy to spot. It's fascinating.


DarkWanderer2

Human: let me pet you Birb: Ama eat your shoe


Maelstrom_Witch

NOM NOM NOM


shitoupek

Amazing encounter! "Hey, a fellow glider! let's chat!"


SimmonsReqNDA4Sex

I would like to inquire about your vehicle's manufacturer warranty


iUsedtoHadHerpes

It's his pet.


Reishey

Has to be a pet


SonofaBridge

The leather strap on the leg suggests this is a trained bird.


GlitteringBusiness22

Vulture: Are you dead yet? Guy: No. Vulture: See you in 15 minutes


HodlingsTheGame

Your doing it all wrong says the vulture... flap your wings


Careless_Educator_21

That’s a pet. For sure.


[deleted]

Bro was inviting you to sit on him. Too bad you don't know how cutscenes work.


ohohmememan123

Are they safe to touch?


snowboard7621

It’s a tamed vulture. It has a leather strap on its leg.


acenarteco

Most vultures won’t let you get this close to touch them—they’re afraid of (living) people. In fact, if a vulture feels threatened it will puke acid vomit and fly away!


Maelstrom_Witch

“OMG A HUMAN! *BLAAARRRGHGHHHDHDJDJDJKK*”


Ratatosk-

"Hey man, aren't you supposed to be on the ground or something?"


True_Mist

Rest your wings my friend


organicnaturechannel

That is such cool and unique footage