The Vulture and the Little Girl
Photographer: Kevin Carter
Date: March 1993
Location: Ayod, Sudan (now South Sudan)
Kevin Carter photographed a severely malnourished Sudanese toddler who had collapsed on the ground while attempting to reach a United Nations feeding center in Ayod, South Sudan, during the 1993 famine, with a hooded vulture waiting nearby. The photograph was submitted to the New York Times, which published it on March 26, 1993. The image caused immediate worldwide outrage, with thousands of readers contacting the Times demanding to know what had happened to the child. Carter later stated that he waited approximately 20 minutes hoping the vulture would spread its wings for a better shot, then chased it away. The child, later reported to be a boy named Kong Nyong, reportedly survived and reached the feeding center. Carter won the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography in 1994. However, the moral burden of the photograph — and years of witnessing atrocities in South Africa and Sudan — contributed to severe depression. Two months after receiving the Pulitzer, Carter died by suicide in Johannesburg at age 33, leaving a note describing his depression and the disturbing images he carried in his memory.
← Explore all photos on the map
