Bearded vultures are specialists in eating bones, making them uniquely vulnerable to lead poisoning from bone marrow in carcasses shot with lead ammunition across their Alpine and Iberian range.
Lead-poisoned bearded vultures experience progressive neurological damage — impaired coordination, inability to fly, and seizures over days to weeks before death. Because they consume bones rather than soft tissue, they are exposed to lead shot fragments that become embedded in skeletal material of game animals. The slow onset of lead toxicity means birds are severely poisoned before behavioural changes are obvious. Treatment requires intensive supportive care and chelation therapy — survival rates vary with poisoning severity. The transition to non-toxic copper ammunition would eliminate most lead exposure for this specialist scavenger.