Seen any turkey vultures lately?

I have always loved animals and have had many throughout the years. I also enjoy reading and watching documentaries or programs about them. The other day in “The Oregonian” newspaper, there was an article about a turkey vulture that interested me. I’ve seen vultures in Mexico and in Louisiana. In Louisiana they were close to where I saw the little A-frame houses where the fighting cocks live. Louisiana is such a great place – they even have alligators by the side of the road in little patches of water.

But this turkey vulture was brought to the Audubon Society of Portland by a woman who found the 11-month-old vulture in her yard. It followed her around and was quite tame. The woman managed to get it into a crate for delivery to the Audubon Society where they determined the vulture was imprinted on humans. This meant the vulture would probably not have survived if left to her own devices in the wild. And who is equipped to own his/her very own turkey vulture? So Ruby, her new name, will be the Audubon’s newest education bird. She’ll be a big attraction as she’s the only one in residence there. But this is not the way it should have been. Ruby should not have been tamed by people her first 11 months of life. Her captors apparently discarded her when she became too much for them to handle. People often make mistakes when they try to help animals they think are in distress. Usually these animals are young and just finding their own way in the world and should be left alone. If they’re injured, that’s an entirely different story.

A pigeon appeared in my yard a couple of years ago and stayed for several months. I named him Larry. He’d come in the morning and then fly away in late afternoon. He was banded, but I could never get close enough to read the numbers, so I could never contact his owner. I bought him pigeon food at the bird/pigeon feed store and fed him every day. But he never became imprinted on me as he brought a female pigeon one day and did the mating thing right in front of me! This lasted for about 30 minutes – 29 of which were foreplay. After that was done, they both flew off together and never came back. I miss him.

This article calls turkey vultures nature’s recyclers. They scavenge on dead animals, and because of the acid in their stomachs, they can eat dead meat that would be poisonous to other animals. They see well and smell well – that is, they can track down food better than most. They are gentle and not at all aggressive. I find the most interesting thing about turkey vultures is the fact that they fight off predators, of which there are very few, by vomiting! The stuff stinks so badly that most creatures, who are thinking of raiding a turkey vulture’s nest, just don’t do it. And it stings if it gets in their faces. It’s too bad humans can’t do that when it might help. What if you were being attacked by someone and you could make yourself vomit in his face? Wouldn’t that be something? There would probably have to be a prescription medication called “Vomit on Demand” that everyone could take. I can just see Pfizer and Merck jumping all over that. It’s just a thought.

I’m glad Ruby is now safe at the Audubon Society, but I wish her life could have been lived as it should have been – free and in the wild.