Turkey vultures: Gross or cool?

Turkey vultures must be the most unloved birds on the planet. A lot of people think they’re gross and shudder at the sight of them. Let's take a closer look at the only vulture species found in Minnesota, the turkey vulture.

Why?

1. With their bald, wrinkled red heads and necks, turkey vultures probably won’t win beauty contests.
2. They pee and poop on their legs!
3. They dine on dead animals.
4. Vile vulture vomit! When they feel threatened, they hurl stinky, putrid, burning vomit—sometimes as far as 10 feet!

But consider this: 

Turkey vultures are perfectly designed to survive in their environment:

• Bald heads mean they don’t get messy feathers when digging into their food.
• Lacking feathers, their heads are sterilized by the sun, which kills germs from dead animals. Vultures love to bask in sunlight, spreading their wings, which are also cleansed by the sun’s rays.
• Their pee and poop, which is highly acidic, kills germs and cools their legs.
• Their vomit is their major defense. They don’t have sharp talons or strong feet like other raptors. They are not built for killing but for eating animals that have already died. 

But still, why are they here?

As it turns out, the things that make turkey vultures gross are also the keys to their coolness! Every creature serves a critical role in maintaining the health of our planet. Vultures have special stomachs that allow them to eat rotting flesh and small bones that would sicken or kill any other creature. Their digestive juices kill bacteria that causes food poisoning.

Without vultures, the bodies of dead animals would pile up, spreading disease.

Vultures are highly endangered in Africa and threatened in Europe, due to hunting, poisoning, and poaching. Fortunately, scientists have taken steps to bring back vulture populations. 

Why this has been happening:

• Certain medicines are now banned for animal use.
• Trained scientists are raising vulture chicks for reintroduction to the wild.
• Vulture “restaurants” are being established. These are areas where scientists place safe animal carcasses (rotting flesh) for the vultures to eat.

Some random cool and amazing facts about turkey vultures: 

• They often fly in circles without flapping their wings, riding rising currents of warm air to save energy.
• Their stomach acid is more potent than battery acid.
• Turkey vultures have one of the best senses of smell of any bird on the planet.
• They are puzzle solvers. They are curious and intelligent, qualities they use to figure out how to approach a dead body and find the meat.
• Their Latin name, Cathartes aura, means “purifying breeze.”

Vultures are nature’s clean-up crew, and they’re essential to the health of our planet!