Turkey Vulture Recovers at WildCare
This adult Turkey Vulture was spotted on the side of the road. Drivers guessed he had been hit by a car and called Marin Humane, who dispatched an officer to rescue the bird and bring him to WildCare.
The intake notes in the Wildlife Hospital say that the vulture was alert but quiet. His level of dehydration was mild, and his attitude was depressed. The team took x-rays, but no fractures were found. An exam found the bird slightly favoring his right side, and his left eye seemed watery, but otherwise no indications of what might have grounded him.
Was he hit by a car? Or had he been poisoned? All of our diagnostic tests had inconclusive results, so we'll never know for sure.
Medical Staff provided supportive care, and placed the vulture in one of the hospital's intensive care wards.
Turkey Vultures have a fascinating (and smelly!) defense mechanism: when they feel threatened, they vomit!
The Wildlife Hospital team knows that any interaction with a Turkey Vulture patient probably means the bird is going to vomit. Obviously, this isn't ideal when the goal is to help the vulture put on weight and regain his health, so handling is kept to an absolute minimum.
In the video below, you can see two instances of the vulture using his revolting defense mechanism. In the first section, WildCare's Dr. Sorem weighs the bird, who promptly pukes off the scale. The noise you hear in the background is another patient, a Barn Owl, who just received her medications and is hissing her displeasure.
The second clip in the video shows the vulture's reaction to Medical Staff capturing him for release. Even when the reason is his return to the wild, this Turkey Vulture lets the team know he doesn't want them near!
In the wild, this stress reaction has two immediate benefits — it provides an approaching predator with an alternative (if pre-digested) food option, and it may lighten the vulture's weight, or at least empty his stomach, making it easier for the heavy bird to lift off and escape.
Although we still didn't have a clear diagnosis for what had grounded this vulture, 10 days of supportive care had made a remarkable difference.
He had started gaining weight and showing an appropriately feisty attitude to his handlers, so our team moved him into an outdoor aviary`.
In the aviary, the Turkey Vulture hopped and flapped between perches, sunned himself from a high perch, and hissed aggressively at everyone who passed by his enclosure.
This was all healthy vulture behavior, so we knew it was time for him to return to the wild!
Watch his release in the video below!
As we've mentioned before, one of the things the Wildlife Hospital team is most excited about at our transition location is the new caging for our recovering wildlife patients.
The raptor aviary is especially innovative, featuring large doors that allow us to break the aviary space into several smaller enclosures, or create larger areas for flighted birds as needed. The aviaries also feature high ceilings and lots of sun. In this photo you can see the Turkey Vulture in his horaltic pose, absorbing the sun at the top of his perch.
When our team noticed that this vulture was flying back and forth in his aviary with no difficulty, we decided to open the door into the adjoining enclosure to give him even more space.
He willingly took advantage, and made excellent use of the now "double-wide" aviary at his disposal.
Watch the doors slide open in the video below!
The effectiveness of this new raptor aviary cannot be overstated. 2024 has been a big year for raptor patients at WildCare, and we currently have eight owls and two hawks in care.
The flexibility of this caging means we have appropriate enclosures for all of these birds to make a full recovery and hopefully return to the wild!
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