Raptor Center of Southeast Michigan

By Dody Wyman

Anyone who knows what a turkey vulture is has an opinion about them.  They are either beautiful and wonderful to watch gracefully soaring in the blue sky or they are ugly “buzzards”…  

For those who are not sure what they look like, they are the big mostly black birds who fly with both wings open and shaped into an open V (for vulture).  They are often seen in flocks circling together as they sniff the up-currents of air for the smell of something dead.  Yes – they are nature’s cleaner uppers.  They specialize in cleaning up dead (even rotting) carcasses.  Their stomach can handle botulism and other things that very few if any other animals can.  Their heads and necks have very few feathers so that they can get deep into their food carcasses without contracting pests or other pathogens.

Because they specialize in such grotesque eating habits and spend a lot of time standing on their dinner, they have some interesting abilities to keep their feet and legs clean.  They clean their feet and legs by peeing on them.  This sanitizes their legs and cools them down on hot summer days.  What is amazing is they can aim their pee where they feel it’s most needed – left, right, both, or none.

It is with this background you’ll understand how disheartened and upset we were when a falconer friend found a dead vulture on her property.  This was a very large, very fat, healthy female who most likely was just coming back from migration for breeding season.  Someone who has disdain for vultures apparently shot her with two very large slugs that ripped off most of the skin on one leg and damaged a shoulder leaving a gaping hole.  How sad.

We contacted Fish & Wildlife since this was an illegal poaching.  One of the deputy agents from F&W has been working to find out what happened, and who did it.  The investigation is still ongoing but most likely about to be closed with no answers.

Please help us spread the word about how valuable these birds are and what a great job they do in helping to keep the environment clean.