I can proudly say that Uncle Fester has finally arrived at Raptors Roost NEC. He comes from North Carolina Seabiscuit Animal Shelter. His right wing was amputated below the wrist. He does not fly well at all. So he will stay with us permanently. It will be a week or two before Fester makes his public debut. Currently I am working on training him to step up onto a glove and getting him use to being around people.
Turkey Vultures can do something most other Birds of Prey cannot and that is smell. Turkey Vultures can actually smell dead things from over two miles away from them while they are soaring. We call them Nature's Garbage Men for a reason and they do an excellent job at keeping nature clean. As you may hear me say during my talks that Turkey Vultures not only eat dead things or carrion as we call it. They also do 2 other things you may find rather disgusting. Turkey Vultures throw-up when they feel threatened is the first gross thing. It serves 2 purposes for them. First the throw-up stinks and second it makes them lighter so they can fly away from whatever is distressing them. The second gross trait a Turkey Vulture has is that is poops and pees on their legs. It is called uorhydrosis. Since birds can't sweat like we can Turkey Vultures keep cool by pooping and peeing on their legs. Also we believe the acid in their pee helps keeps their legs clean after walking thru whatever they are eating.
We may think Turkey Vulture are ugly, but they serve a great purpose in nature!!!
Stay tune for there will be much more posted as Uncle Fester goes thru Trainning!!!
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