This turkey vulture has much for which to be thankful. In March,
he was seen on the ground sunning himself, while cars sped right by
him on Highway 152.
This turkey vulture has much for which to be thankful. In March, he was seen on the ground sunning himself, while cars sped right by him on Highway 152. The next day, a commuter saw the vulture on the ground again and noticed that its left wing was badly drooping. The location and the condition of the big bird required a life or death decision by the concerned Los Banos resident. Due to the extent of the vulture’s injuries, his rescuer was able to safely capture him by tossing blankets over him, then placed him in a box and transported him to the Wildlife Education Rehabilitation Center in Morgan Hill.
X-rays showed that the vulture not only had a healing fracture in the wing, it also had an older fracture that had already calcified. Apparently, the vulture had suffered a collision with a vehicle at least twice in his life, probably while he was gobbling up some tasty roadkill in the middle of a highway.
After a few days of treatment for minor wounds, the vulture was transferred to the large enclosure to observe its flight capabilities. Within a week he was able to fly up to a high perch and look down on the volunteers who came in to feed him and give him showers with the hose on warm days. However, the two wing fractures gave him a hunch-backed appearance and his wing continued to droop even after months of flying to build up muscle strength. Turkey vultures must be able to soar high into the sky to search for food and take off quickly when vehicles approach on the road. Despite his otherwise excellent health and appetite, the prognosis was not good for his release back to the wild skies.
Thankfully, there was another option which could give the permanently injured vulture a second chance. WERC decided to consider the bird as a potential educational animal, so that he could appear at public events and school programs. He was given the name “Pacheco,” after the area where he was found. Turkey vultures are magnificent, fascinating and beneficial animals.
Because of their red, naked head and turkey-like strut on the ground, they do appear similar to wild turkeys, hence their name. Turkey vultures are a very social, familial and non-aggressive bird. Large communal groups can be found roosting in trees, gliding in thermals (warm, rising air) for hours at a time over hillsides and enjoying a feast of carrion. Vultures are scavengers and don’t kill prey. Unlike raptors, they cannot carry off food in their talons. They dine on animals that have died naturally or have been killed by other predators or vehicles. Unlike other birds, vultures have an exceptionally keen sense of smell and can detect freshly dead food from a distance. Disregard those cartoons – vultures do not circle over people or animals dying in the desert or elsewhere!
Commonly, but erroneously, called a buzzard, the turkey vulture ranges throughout mainland U.S. and down to South America. It’s almost the size of an eagle, with a 6-foot wingspread and can often be seen perching atop a telephone pole with its wings fully extended. This behavior allows the warmth of the sun to kill bacteria on their body, a very important habit due to their dietary choices. Turkey vulture manners are not for the weak-stomached (and would certainly disincline anyone from inviting them to a Thanksgiving feast): The birds urinate and defecate onto their legs, which cools them off and kills bacteria, and they vomit foul-smelling, partially digested food, which is their main method of defense. Vomiting may also “lighten” the bird if it needs to escape a predator or vehicle quickly.
But wait … Pacheco’s story continues and gets even better! Dr. James Roush, who successfully performed surgery in September on the leg of Orion, the golden eagle, examined Pacheco and has given the go-ahead for surgery on its wing. Roush stated that with corrective surgery on the wing there is a 60 percent chance of releasing the rehabilitated turkey vulture, the primary objective of WERC.
