Explore the essential role vultures play in cleaning our ecosystems and why their conservation is key to a healthy planet.

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In the African grasslands, a gazelle suffering from tuberculosis takes its last breath. The animal’s corpse threatens to infect the water, but for the vulture, this isn’t a problem: it’s a feast. With a stomach of steel that can digest diseased meat and waste, vultures are essential to removing dangerous pathogens from ecosystems. Kenny Coogan explores the importance of the desert’s cleanup crew.

Lesson by Kenny Coogan, directed by Mali Mamut.