A large African vulture, also known as the white-backed vulture, that feeds on carrion.
From Afrikaans/Dutch 'aasvogelm' combining 'aas' (carrion) and 'vogel' (bird)—literally 'carrion bird.' The term reflects the bird's ecological role as a scavenger in African ecosystems.
The aasvogel is crucial to African ecosystems as a cleanup crew—one vulture can eat several pounds of carrion in minutes, preventing disease spread—yet many African vulture populations have crashed due to poisoning and habitat loss in recent decades.
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