Predator vultures eat Spanish farm animals alive

For as long as anyone can remember, Spanish griffon vultures have swooped down on carcasses of dead cattle or other animals lying on fields or forests. Yet now, in a dramatic change of behaviour, the bald-headed and broad-winged scavengers are making savage attacks on live cows, sheep and even horses, literally eating them alive.

The phenomenon has surprised officials some of whom refuse to believe it, saying the birds only attack sick or moribund animals.

Farmers, however, maintain that the vultures also set upon healthy animals, mostly mares or cows which have just given birth and their newborn.