Make your own edible vulture vomit!

Vulture vomit may seem like an unlikely topic for a blog, but it’s actually a very important aspect of vulture survival. It will also be a popular learning experience at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo’s celebration of International Vulture Awareness Day (IVAD) on Saturday, Sept. 7 from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. in African Rift Valley. The purpose of the event is to educate guests about the plight of vultures around the world and the important role that they play in the wild.

Vultures are vital to the health of ecosystems around the world. They are scavengers – eating the wounded, sick and discarded carcasses. Their strong stomach acids are corrosive and prevent disease from spreading. During their meal time, a vulture can eat up to one quarter of its body weight in meat. That is the equivalent of a human eating 30-50 pounds of food at once! Eating so much can make flight difficult, so if threatened, they will vomit to lighten their body weights. The regurgitation may also distract predators so the vulture can escape.

During International Vulture Awareness Day, guests participate in many fun activities, but a favorite is eating vulture vomit. If you are unable to visit the Zoo during IVAD, celebrate at home by making your own vulture vomit. (Disclaimer: We do not recommend you eat 30-50 pounds at once.)

Here are two of our staff’s favorite edible vomit recipes:

Hippo-Flavored Vomit

•  Melt a 8 oz. bag of dark chocolate baking chips
• Smear on a baking sheet lined with parchment or waxed paper
• Sprinkle chopped macadamia nuts onto the chocolate and lightly press in
• Sprinkle finely chopped dried cherries onto the nuts and chocolate and lightly press in
• Let cool, then eat and enjoy

Zebra-Flavored Vomit

• Separately melt 4 oz. of milk (or dark) chocolate baking chips and 4 oz. of white chocolate baking chips and pour into two separate baking sheets lined with parchment or wax paper
• Mix Rice Krispies into each type of chocolate
• Lightly mix in the white chocolate with the milk (or dark) chocolate until it looks like stripes
• Let cool, then eat and enjoy