I, too, am fascinated by these enormous, ungainly, and bold creatures. I am constantly surprised to see them even in densely populated areas, matter of factly asserting their right to all sorts of carrion. I suppose it makes sense for them to stick close to humans, as we are pretty careless of the animal life around us and leave plenty for them to clean up. The other day while walking our dog we noticed an entirely intact but motionless opossum lying belly up close to the middle of the road, likely fresh roadkill. By the time we were circling back from our loop, we saw three turkey vultures that had apparently moved the carcass from the road to the sidewalk and were taking turns plunging their beaks into its flesh, tearing out what looked like choice bits of entrails. They did not move from their site, despite the regular stream of cars on the road and frequent passers by and their dogs. We passed to the other side of the road, careful to give them plenty of room and keep our small dog from getting too close. They did not appear at all fazed and made no move away from the human commotion. There was something otherworldly and majestic about them, carrying on as if it were we who were the intruders, not they.
I loved this. I just finished reading Bernd Heinrich's "Life Everlasting, " about nature's undetakers. You both have helped me to appreciate animals who do so much to keep the earth alive by eating the dead.
I have grown to love turkey vultures. In the fall, we end up with a big colony of them with lots of youngsters (last year on one day after a festival, I counted 98 on the ground near me). They aren't particularly afraid of humans so they will play quite nearby. They are so docile. The service they provide is astounding too!
From Ann in Nashville:
I, too, am fascinated by these enormous, ungainly, and bold creatures. I am constantly surprised to see them even in densely populated areas, matter of factly asserting their right to all sorts of carrion. I suppose it makes sense for them to stick close to humans, as we are pretty careless of the animal life around us and leave plenty for them to clean up. The other day while walking our dog we noticed an entirely intact but motionless opossum lying belly up close to the middle of the road, likely fresh roadkill. By the time we were circling back from our loop, we saw three turkey vultures that had apparently moved the carcass from the road to the sidewalk and were taking turns plunging their beaks into its flesh, tearing out what looked like choice bits of entrails. They did not move from their site, despite the regular stream of cars on the road and frequent passers by and their dogs. We passed to the other side of the road, careful to give them plenty of room and keep our small dog from getting too close. They did not appear at all fazed and made no move away from the human commotion. There was something otherworldly and majestic about them, carrying on as if it were we who were the intruders, not they.
That parks video about the two young turkey vultures is amazing! We've been watching a bunch of Animalogic videos (on YouTube), and the one about the Marabou Stork covers another fascinating carrion bird. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6J5r7xEsCik&list=PLLp_Uzlh36zUSp6dI3aSJwZEAM4jIJAXo&index=1
I loved this. I just finished reading Bernd Heinrich's "Life Everlasting, " about nature's undetakers. You both have helped me to appreciate animals who do so much to keep the earth alive by eating the dead.
I have grown to love turkey vultures. In the fall, we end up with a big colony of them with lots of youngsters (last year on one day after a festival, I counted 98 on the ground near me). They aren't particularly afraid of humans so they will play quite nearby. They are so docile. The service they provide is astounding too!