Turkey Vultures Are Gentle
by David Flint
According to the Turkey Vulture Society (vulturesociety.homestead.com) the Turkey Vulture is a gentle and non-aggressive bird that has often gotten a bad rap. They generally do not kill anything, do not spread disease and will not hurt your pets or children. They roost in large community groups but forage independently during the day. They easily and gracefully soar on thermal updrafts and have both a keen eyesight and a highly developed sense of smell.
Common throughout the continental United States as well as north into Canada and south to Tierra del Fuego, Turkey Vultures excel at finding and eating dead animals, many of which have succumbed to disease. Since almost all bacteria, including anthrax, are killed in the Vulture’s highly acidic stomach, this scavenger bird can be credited with preventing the spread of disease. If the Vultures did not clean up the dead carcasses, the job would be done by maggots and bacteria. “Without vultures to efficiently remove large amounts of decaying meat, both air and groundwater would show increased contamination,” says the Vulture Society.
