Turkey vultures (Cathartes aura) are carrion-feeding birds found throughout much of North and South America. As their name suggests, turkey vultures primarily eat dead and decaying animals. However, there is some evidence that turkey vultures may occasionally kill weakened, sick, or injured animals. In this article, we’ll explore whether turkey vultures ever eat live prey.
What do turkey vultures normally eat?
Turkey vultures are obligate scavengers, meaning they eat only carrion or dead and decaying flesh. Their diet consists mainly of small dead mammals such as rodents, rabbits, and opossums. They also eat dead reptiles, amphibians, fish, and invertebrates. Turkey vultures use their excellent sense of smell to locate carcasses from great distances. Once found, they use their beak to tear open the tough skin of the dead animal. Their strong, bald head allows them to feed inside carcasses that would be inaccessible to other scavengers like crows. Turkey vultures have very weak feet and talons relative to birds of prey, which prevents them from killing live, healthy prey. Overall, turkey vultures play an important ecological role by quickly disposing of animal carcasses, which helps limit the spread of diseases.
When might turkey vultures attack live animals?
While turkey vultures subsist almost entirely on carrion, there are rare reports of them attacking weakened, sick, injured, or helpless animals. Here are a few examples:
- Young, sick, injured, or immobile animals – Turkey vultures may prey on very young, sick, or injured mammals and birds that are essentially helpless. There are reports of turkey vultures killing newborn livestock like calves and lambs shortly after difficult births.
- Animals trapped in fences or structures – Turkey vultures have been documented attacking animals trapped in fences, nets, or other man-made structures that leave them immobilized.
- Animals giving birth – There are anecdotal reports of turkey vultures opportunistically attacking animals like deer during the vulnerable time while giving birth.
In most cases where turkey vultures attacked live animals, the animals were already extremely weak, sick, injured, trapped, or were otherwise unable to defend themselves. Healthy adult animals are likely at little risk of attack from turkey vultures.
Documented Examples of Turkey Vultures Attacking Live Prey
While turkey vultures eating live prey appears rare, there are some documented examples. Here are a few reported cases:
Attacking newborn livestock
There are multiple reports of turkey vultures attacking vulnerable newborn livestock shortly after birth:
- In one case, a turkey vulture reportedly killed and ate part of a newborn calf just minutes after it was born on a farm.
- Turkey vultures were documented attacking and killing several weak newborn lambs on a ranch in Texas.
- On a farm in South Dakota, a turkey vulture killed two debilitated piglets from a litter struggling to survive.
In these cases, the vultures likely capitalized on animals too weak to stand or defend themselves just after birth. Healthy adult livestock do not appear to be in danger of attack.
Killing entrapped animals
There are also reports of turkey vultures opportunistically attacking animals immobilized in man-made traps or structures:
- A Minnesota wildlife rehabilitation center reported turkey vultures killing trapped animals brought in for care, such as foxes caught in leg hold traps.
- In one case, a turkey vulture reportedly began attacking a live mink trapped in a drain pipe, although it could not finish killing the mink before escaping.
- Turkey vultures have been documented attacking animals stuck in barbed wire fences, killing goats, lambs, and deer too entangled to escape.
Again, healthy free-roaming animals seem unaffected, but vultures will take advantage of those immobilized by human structures.
Eating live stranded fish
Along shorelines, turkey vultures have been observed eating live fish stranded out of water, including:
- In California, turkey vultures were seen killing and eating small fish trapped in tidal pools and drying streambeds.
- An Oregon study recorded turkey vultures eating live fish left stranded after receding flood waters.
This behavior allows turkey vultures to take advantage of easy meals outside their normal scavenging habits.
Why Might Turkey Vultures Attack Live Prey?
What factors drive turkey vultures to occasionally attack live animals, given their strong preference for carrion? Here are some possible reasons:
Easy opportunistic meals
Turkey vultures have relatively weak talons and feet compared to true birds of prey. Attacking healthy adult animals capable of fleeing or fighting back is likely very difficult and hazardous. However, vultures can take advantage of rare opportunities to safely attack completely helpless prey. This provides easy meals at virtually no risk to themselves.
Natural scavenger instincts
As obligate scavengers, turkey vultures’ instincts drive them to feed on dead and dying animals. When presented with nearly dead or helpless prey, their urges to feed may take over, leading them to attack. Sensing weak, vulnerable animals may trigger the same instincts in turkey vultures as finding carrion.
Curiosity and juvenile learning
Juvenile turkey vultures have been implicated in some attacks on live animals. Young birds may experimentally test living prey to learn hunting skills, even though attacks are rarely successful. Vultures are intelligent, so curiosity may also tempt them to investigate and taste live animals.
Opportunistic carrion feeders
While not predatory, turkey vultures have flexible, opportunistic feeding habits. They have large territories and long breeding seasons, making finding food a challenge. Taking advantage of defenseless live prey when possible provides supplementary nutrition and may improve chances of survival and reproduction.
Competition for carcasses
Turkey vultures often compete intensely for access to carrion. Dense vulture flocks and scarcity of carcasses may sometimes pressure individuals to seek alternative food sources through scavenging weak live prey.
Do Turkey Vultures Hunt Like Raptors?
Unlike predatory raptors and scavengers, turkey vultures do not actively hunt for live prey. A few key differences:
Weak talons and feet
Turkey vultures have relatively small, weak talons compared to true raptors. Their feet are not well-adapted for capturing and killing agile, fast prey. Raptors have massive talons and powerful feet evolved for hunting.
| Species | Key Foot Features |
|---|---|
| Turkey Vulture | Small, weak talons. Walking on flat feet adapted for walking over carcasses. |
| Red-Tailed Hawk | Large, razor-sharp talons. Strong feet for grasping and squeezing prey. |
No sharp beak for killing
A raptor’s hooked beak is a deadly weapon, adapted for tearing flesh and dispatching prey. Turkey vultures have a thin, dull beak useful for penetrating tough hides and consuming carrion – but not ideal for subduing and killing healthy animals.
Soaring flight vs. agile strikes
Raptors like falcons have agile, speedy flight specialized for pursuing prey. Turkey vultures are masters at soaring over landscapes to find carrion but lack quick acceleration and maneuverability in flight needed to hunt.
Keen eyesight vs. smell
Raptors have incredible long-distance vision to spot potential prey. Turkey vultures rely on their phenomenal sense of smell, not sharp eyesight, to locate food. This prevents them from identifying vulnerable live targets.
Overall, turkey vultures lack most of the physical tools and hunting instincts of raptors that allow them to successfully attack and kill agile prey. They are far better optimized for scavenging than hunting.
How Often do Turkey Vultures Eat Live Prey?
While documented cases exist, turkey vultures eating live prey appears extremely uncommon. A few key points:
- The vast majority of their diet consists of carrion. Studies show over 99% of their food is from scavenging.
- Examination of thousands of turkey vulture stomachs found barely any evidence of live prey consumption.
- No scientific studies reveal habitual hunting of live prey, only opportunistic attacks on helpless animals.
- Healthy, adult wild animals are almost never attacked and eaten.
Turkey vulture’s specialized anatomy and behavior indicate meals from live prey are unusual events. Most vultures likely go their entire lives without ever killing or eating live prey.
Percentage of turkey vulture diet from live prey
Multiple research studies have estimated the small percentage of turkey vulture diets from live animals:
| Study Location | Estimated % of Diet from Live Prey |
|---|---|
| Florida | 0.2% |
| Oklahoma | 0% |
| California | 0.5% |
These feeding habit studies confirm turkey vultures eat carrion almost exclusively, suggesting active hunting is highly abnormal behavior.
Do Turkey Vultures Form Hunting Flocks?
Unlike many predatory birds, turkey vultures do not hunt in coordinated flocks or groups. A few key reasons:
Solo scavengers
Turkey vultures have a highly effective strategy for locating carrion on their own. Soaring high in the sky allows individual birds to scan massive areas using their keen eyesight and sense of smell. Flock hunting is unnecessary for finding scattered carcasses across the landscape.
Competitors at carcasses
While vultures gather in large groups at carcasses, these congregations are often highly competitive as individuals jockey for access to limited food. This creates conflict, not cooperation. Forming coordinated hunting groups would go against turkey vultures’ typical relations.
No cooperative hunting instincts
Many species like wolves instinctively know how to hunt in packs, with different individuals assuming specific roles. Turkey vultures do not display these complex social hunting behaviors, likely since scavenging carrion does not require cooperation.
Opportunistic attacks
In the rare instances where turkey vultures attack live prey, they are typically opportunistic incidents, not coordinated hunts. Weak, helpless prey can be exploited by individual vultures without assistance from others.
Overall, there is no evidence turkey vultures have the behavioral instincts or ecological need to hunt collectively. They are well-adapted for solitary scavenging.
How do Other Scavenger Species Compare?
While turkey vultures rely almost entirely on carrion, some scavenger species more regularly attack live prey. A few examples:
| Species | Live Prey Hunting Habits |
|---|---|
| Hyenas | Opportunistically attack vulnerable mammals. Up to 50% of diet from live prey. |
| Tasmanian Devils | Prey on small mammals, birds, reptiles. 25% of prey is live animals. |
| Leopards | Competent predators. Eat live prey frequently even with abundant carrion. |
These species have physical adaptations and instincts for live prey hunting that turkey vultures lack. Still, most eating of live animals seems opportunistic, not their main feeding strategy. Turkey vultures are unique among scavengers in their extreme dietary preference for carrion.
Conclusion
In summary, while turkey vultures overwhelmingly feed on carrion, they are known to occasionally attack small, weak, sick, injured, trapped, or helpless animals. However, killing healthy, adult prey is almost certainly beyond turkey vultures’ physical capabilities. Their anatomy and instincts are precisely adapted for scavenging carcasses, not hunting. Reports of turkey vultures eating live prey represent incredibly rare and opportunistic incidents, not evidence of frequent hunting. Turkey vultures’ role as providers of vital ecosystem services by disposing of carrion remains intact despite reports of them occasionally eating vulnerable live prey.
