It took a flock of Griffon vultures only 45 minutes to completely consume the flesh of a 52-year-old French woman who died on April 14 while hiking with two friends in the French Pyrenees.
The woman, whose name has yet to be released, plunged nearly 1,000 feet to her death while attempting to route a shortcut on the Pic de Pista. Her body was devoured by the birds of prey before emergency services could reach her, leaving only bones, clothes, and shoes remaining.
According to Major Didier Pericou of the gendarmarie, "When we first went out in the helicopter looking for the body, we saw numerous vultures without realizing what they were doing," he told The Daily Mail. "There were only bones, clothes and shoes left on the ground. They took 40 to 50 minutes to eat the body."
News of the woman's grizzly demise has sparked further outrage among local farmers who have been seeking permission to shoot the Griffon vultures. Despite their status as a protected species, farmers have argued the ban has led to an explosion in population, and that a European law requiring the incineration of dead livestock has deprived the surplus of vultures with enough food.
As many as 42 claims have been brought to local authorities for compensation for animals lost to vultures. "You can't imagine what it is like to see an animal eaten alive," said farmer Alain Larraide, who has witnessed vultures attack adult cows and carry off live animals.
A 2011 report published in the science journal "Nature," showed the Griffon vulture had made a transition from carrion scavenger to predator throughout the region. In northern Spain alone there were 1,165 reported cases of Griffon vultures killing livestock between 2006 and 2010, with compensation to farmers nearing 265,000 Euros (U.S. $350,000).
"We are seeing three-figure vulture flocks over Belgium and Holland. These birds are fanning out across Europe in search of food, said European bird of prey expert, Grahame Madge. "There is a conservation issue."
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