My last name is Vining, so when people asked me how to spell my last name I used to say “V” as in Victor, i-n-i-n-g. A few years ago I decided I liked vultures so much I would change it. So now when people ask me to spell my last name, I say “V” as in Vulture, i-n-i-n-g. I am surprised I didn’t change it sooner.
When I was young I thought the Andean condor was one of the greatest birds. As with many young adults I liked things that were big. Animals like whales, elephants, rhinos, hippos, and condors. At the time, Guinness Book of World Records listed the Andean condor as the largest flying bird. So, when I went to the Denver Zoo I always checked out the Andean condor.
I also was completely intrigued by the National Geographic article in the 1971 volume 139, number 5, entitled: The Condor, Soaring Spirit of the Andes. A person had caught then worked with and trained an Andean condor. How weird/cool was that!
I was to find out later there have been other Andean condors with special bonds to people. For example there was Veedor, who the trainers wrote a small book about him. And another example was Andy N. Condor at Tracy Aviary (I will write more about Andy later).
When I was growing up and I’d go hiking in the mountains of Colorado I kept my eyes peeled for…golden eagles. However, I learned to recognize that the V was for vulture. The turkey vulture has a pronounced V formation with its wings while soaring. So, I started looking for eagles and vultures
I learned to enjoy looking for turkey vultures, partly because unlike eagles, they seemed to hang out together. Eagles and hawks are definitely solitary birds, with only one or two birds generally seen together. I might only see one turkey vulture soaring, but if it started to circle it would soon be joined by others. I knew very little about vultures back then, but that would change, not only for myself but also for biologists.
For several years I had little dealings with vultures, mostly because I was living in Alaska. Until recently, Alaska did not have turkey vultures. However, recently turkey vultures are making irregular appearances in Alaska. I am waiting for the day when one of my friends in Alaska tells me a nesting pair of turkey vultures has been spotted in Alaska.
In 2002, while still living and working in Alaska, I went to the San Diego Zoo, they had made an area called “Raptor Walk” (or something like that). I was in my dream world of raptors. First up was a pair of harpy eagles (one of my favorite birds), next was a pair of bearded vultures (which I had always found fascinating the way they dropped bones on rocks), a pair of Andean condors with a chick, and a Steller’s sea eagle (another one of my favorite birds). Except for the Andean condors this was the first time I had ever seen any of these birds. I was to learn later that I had been very lucky to see the bearded vultures, since they were the only ones in captivity. I was very excited about the eagles, but it was absolutely great to see Andean condors again.
I moved to Missouri in 2008 and Missouri has an abundance of turkey vultures. My enthusiasm for vultures was renewed and it has grown. I got involved with the Raptor Rehabilitation Project (RRP) in Columbia Missouri. The Raptor Rehabilitation Project has a resident/ambassador turkey vulture named Grimm. I like working with the other raptors, but to me Grimm is the best. I also got involved with International Vulture Awareness Day (IVAD) about the same time. Specifically I helped out at the St.Louis Zoo on IVAD. In fact, it was a zookeeper there who talked to me and suggested I come help/support the zoo on IVAD. This was probably the starting point of my renewed enjoyment of zoos and deciding to get involve further and eventually start this blog, Zoo Folk.
Besides at the St. Louis Zoo, I also drummed up support for IVAD with the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) of whom I was currently working. I was invited to be interviewed on a radio station on vultures in general and IVAD specifically. I was ready to answer all kinds of questions associated with vultures: Why the bald head? How heavy are they? etc. I was not prepared when the first question was: “So, Ivan why vultures?” I was speechless. Why did I like vultures so much? I asked one of my friends at the St. Louis Zoo why she liked them and she said: “They’re awesome!!” Yes, that was true but there seemed to be more. After discussing it with her, she said: “It sounds like vultures are a symbol of hope for the environment to you.” That was it. How empty the sky would seem without vultures circling (by the way a group of vultures circling is called a “kettle”) or soaring by. No vultures also means the environment is in real trouble. This has been unfortunately observed in Asia and Africa.
Vultures are supremely adapted for their roles as scavengers. I know of no mammal or bird that is equally adapted for this function. For example their stomach acids are very strong, killing the hardiest of viruses and bacteria. Also in some vultures the normal bacteria in their gut is the same bacteria found on decaying flesh. These bacteria are deadly to many animals, including people!
Due to varying reasons there has been a major decline in vultures across the globe, especially in Europe, Asia, and Africa. The loss of vultures has led to severe environmental problems in Asia and Africa. In India, Nepal, and Pakistan there has been a surge in rabies to nearly epidemic proportions. In Africa carcasses are taking longer to decay, thus likely increasing the spread of disease. Vultures are truly keystone species!
So what does this have to do with zoos? Of the 23 species of vultures, most are either threatened, endangered, or critically endangered as assessed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The IUCN Red List is the international list of endangered plants and animals. Nearly all of the threatened or endangered vultures have breeding programs in zoos.
In our own country, we had a vulture that almost went extinct: the California Condor. However some zoos stepped in, specifically the San Diego and Los Angeles Zoos and started an intensive captive breeding program. Later, other zoos like the Oregon Zoo, Oakland Zoo and Phoenix Zoo provided their support. The California condor is now considered a success story for conservation, thanks in part to some U.S. zoos.
Also, as mentioned earlier, vultures are social birds and seem to make great ambassador animals. Being a social and non-hunting bird, they tend to be less aggressive and enjoy attention. Grimm, the turkey vulture I sometimes work with, usually does great at presentations and loves attention (though no touchies)! I have also seen a cinerous vulture walking around people after a bird show. The most exceptional ambassador vulture I have had the pleasure to meet was Andy N. Condor of Tracy Aviary, Salt Lake City, Utah. This Andean condor had over 20,000 followers on Facebook. He did his presentations at Tracy Aviary and taught people the importance of vultures. And, if the vulture information didn’t get them interested, his personality and curiosity often did. He showed just how special vultures are. His keeper/partner walked Andy around Tracy Aviary first thing in the morning almost everyday. I was incredibly fortunate enough to walk with Andy one day. Him and I were the same age. Andy died recently at an age of 64.
So I hope you can grow to appreciate these often maligned birds who play such an integral part in our environment. Look beyond the “ugly” face and see the curious, social bird, with an important role throughout the world.
Since turkey vultures occur in every state except Hawaii, if you are out and about and you see a large bird soaring by remember:
V as in Vulture
Cool vulture facts:
Largest Raptors (by weight):
- Andean Condor
- Cinerous Vulture
- California Condor
- Lappet-Faced Vulture
- Himalayan Vulture
- Griffon Vulture
- Cape Vulture
- Steller’s Sea Eagle
- Harpy Eagle
- Ruppell’s Vulture
Largest Raptors (by length):
- California Condor
- Andean Condor
- Bearded Vulture
- Cinerous Vulture
- Himalayan (Griffon) Vulture
- Griffon Vulture
- Lappet-Faced Vulture
- Cape Vulture
- Philippine Eagle
- Harpy Eagle
Highest Flying Bird:
For years the bar-headed goose was listed as the highest flying bird at 29,000 ft. That record was broken when a Ruppell’s vulture was sucked into a jet engine at 37,000 ft (a full mile higher than Mount Everest).
Oldest Raptor (and one of the oldest known birds):
An Andean condor lived to be 79 years old at Beardsley Zoo in Connecticut.
Soaring:
A study was done in South America to see how often Andean condors flapped their wings while soaring. While aloft (not counting take-offs and landings) they flap only 1% of the time. One Andean condor flew for over 5 hours and over 100 miles without flapping (see Guardian article: “Andean Condors can fly over 100 miles without flapping” for the full story).
Specialized Digestive System:
I have been unable to find research on just how strong the acid in vultures stomach are. It has been theorized it’s pH is close to 1 or less. What is known is that the stomach acids are strong enough to kill diseases that most animal stomach acids are not strong enough to kill. For example the acid is strong enough to kill rabies, anthrax, and Ebola.
Three Species of Vultures in the Americas have a Great Sense of Smell:
The turkey vulture, the lesser yellow-headed vulture, and the greater yellow-headed vulture have incredible senses of smell. Not many studies have been done on the yellow-headed vultures but it is known that a turkey vulture can smell a carcass from a mile high in the sky. Their sense of smell is better than that of a blood hound. It is worth noting that the greater yellow-headed vulture lives in tropical rain forests, so it’s sense of smell may be even better than the turkey vultures!
