Nowadays, if a vulture (famous scavenger birds known for showing up when something is dead, or about to die) came within ten feet of me, I’d probably just shrug and accept it…because, I mean, look at the state of the planet. And it seems like I’m not alone. Apparently, a couple of paragliders barely flinched when a massive vulture landed on their selfie-stick, mid-flight. Never mind the massive, dinosaur-looking fuck of a bird flying up beside me, but to be able to manage your cool while soaring thousands of feet in the air? There are so many questions that go with this clip.
First of all, I didn’t even know vultures could reach those kinds of heights. I thought they just casually roamed the shoulders of highways looking for roadkill. I also didn’t know that paragliding was a thing. So…there’s that. Anyway, this clip first made its rounds on Reddit before becoming viral––2.5 million views and counting––that shows a massive bird casually landing on the extended selfie-stick of a couple tooting around the skies over the picturesque mountains in Algodonales in Spain on a bicycle seat with a parachute.
Man. pic.twitter.com/XTzXMda5Wy
— Kris Tapley (@kristapley) October 14, 2020
If you’re wondering who? what? why? how? Just know, that the whole thing was planned. In fact, the vulture has been trained to do this. Paragliding instructor Scott Mason of SkyWings Adventure in Spain pioneered what is called “parahawking,” where a trained bird of prey guides him on flights. So, basically, if you think you’ve got an important job, you best talk to Scott first.
The footage, shot on a GoPro camera, continues to receive plenty of reactions on social media. But for now, this bird, and the Fleetwood Mac score, gives me serious Nathan Apodaca vibes––and I get it. I get it, man.
Pic: TikTok