Turkey vultures are large birds of prey that are found throughout much of North and South America. They get their name from their bald, red heads that resemble the head of a turkey. Turkey vultures play an important role in the ecosystem by cleaning up carrion, or dead and decaying animals. However, finding a turkey vulture can raise some questions about what actions you should take.
Is the turkey vulture injured or in distress?
The first thing you’ll want to check is whether the turkey vulture appears to be injured or in distress. Healthy turkey vultures will often stand tall with their wings folded. If the wings are drooping or spread out on the ground, it could be a sign of injury or illness. You may also observe the vulture having difficulty walking or flying. A vulture that is unable to fly or perch up high is likely injured. Also watch for signs of blood or damaged feathers that could indicate injury.
If the turkey vulture is unable to fly, appears ill, or is bleeding, it needs medical attention from a wildlife rehabilitation expert. Do not attempt to touch, capture or treat the vulture yourself, as they can inflict painful bites with their sharp beaks when threatened. Call your local animal control office or wildlife rescue center for assistance. Many wildlife rehabilitators are trained to safely capture and transport injured birds to get medical care.
If the vulture has died, you can contact your local wildlife agency to retrieve the remains so it does not attract other predators to roadways or populated areas. Turkey vultures are protected by law in many areas, so do not disturb a carcass if you are unsure of regulations.
Is the turkey vulture a threat?
Healthy turkey vultures pose very little direct threat to humans. Turkey vultures eat only carrion or dead animals, so they will not attack pets or livestock. They do not take down living prey like eagles or hawks do. Their diet means they play an important ecological role in quickly cleaning up animal carcasses that could otherwise spread bacteria or disease.
On very rare occasions, an underfed vulture may target small pets or vulnerable livestock, but this is not common behavior. A hissing vulture is usually just displaying a defensive behavior rather than an intent to attack. The only real risk turkey vultures present is if they are nesting in an inconvenient or inappropriate spot, such as a backyard tree, where droppings can accumulate. Their feathers can also carry bacteria from carrion that can cause illness if their nests or roosts are disturbed.
Is it legal to have the turkey vulture removed?
In the United States, turkey vultures are federally protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. This means it is illegal to harm, harass, or kill turkey vultures without a permit. It is also illegal to keep turkey vulture parts, feathers or nests without proper permits. If a turkey vulture is causing problems, you must seek out approved methods of removal through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and your state wildlife agency. Removing a turkey vulture nest requires a permit in most cases.
Options may include:
- Using harmless hazing or deterrents to encourage the vulture to leave
- Carefully removing and relocating the nest during non-breeding season
- Installing deterrents such as wire grids or spikes on potential nesting spots
Poisoning, shooting, or killing turkey vultures is punishable by fines and legal prosecution under the MBTA, so this should never be attempted. Peacefully coexisting and using legal removal methods are the best approaches.
Will turkey vultures attack pets or children?
Turkey vultures do not generally attack live animals, so pets and children are safe from their talons and beaks. Turkey vultures prefer to feast on carrion or dead carcasses and do not usually kill prey. Their light, hollow bones are best suited for soaring high in the sky searching for dead meals rather than wrestling with heavy live animals.
However, turkey vultures may be tempted to feed on very small pets (less than 5 pounds) if they are unattended outside and remain motionless for a long time. The vulture may mistakenly assume the pet is dead. Similarly, turkey vultures are unlikely to directly attack children, but very rarely, young children may be viewed as potential food if they are laying still.
To be safe, do not leave small pets or young children unattended near areas where turkey vultures are present. Keep small pets indoors or supervise them when outside. Do not allow children to play motionless for long periods when vultures are nearby. With proper supervision, turkey vultures pose little risk to pets and kids.
Will a turkey vulture attack me?
Turkey vultures will very rarely attack or bite humans. As carrion feeders, they do not view people as prey. However, turkey vultures may bite or strike with their beak if they feel extremely threatened, such as if someone gets too close to their nest.
Here are some tips to avoid provoking an attack:
- Do not attempt to touch or capture a turkey vulture
- Stay at least 30 feet from any active nests
- Avoid getting too close to a vulture feeding on a carcass
- Do not back a vulture into a corner – give it an escape route
- Leave the area if you see signs of distress such as hissing or spreading wings
In the unlikely event a turkey vulture strikes or bites you, carefully retreat from the area and clean the wound thoroughly to avoid infection from bacteria on their beak. Seek medical treatment if the bite is severe. Report the incident to wildlife authorities.
By respecting their space and allowing room to escape, problems with turkey vultures attacking are extremely rare. They prefer to avoid close contact with humans whenever possible.
What should I do if I find a baby turkey vulture?
If you find a baby turkey vulture, or nestling, on the ground, the best course of action is to leave it alone. Baby vultures spend much of their time on the ground before they are able to fly at around 3 months old. The parents still feed and care for them during this time.
Unless the nestling is clearly injured, or in immediate danger, interfering with the baby will often do more harm than good. The parents are likely nearby watching over it. Avoid touching the baby vulture and do not attempt to return it to a nest, as this could disturb the whole colony.
Here are some tips if you find a nestling turkey vulture:
- Quickly move away and do not linger near the baby
- Avoid making loud noises or movements to scare the parents
- Create a buffer zone around the nestling with caution tape or cones
- Return at a distance in 8-12 hours – if the baby has not moved, call wildlife rescue
Only if the baby vulture is sick, injured or in imminent danger should you contact a wildlife rehabilitator for assistance with capturing and relocating the baby. Otherwise, parent vultures will continue to care for their young even if they end up on the ground temporarily.
How do I remove turkey vultures roosting on my property?
Turkey vultures like to roost communally in trees or on man-made structures at night. While their droppings can create a mess, it is illegal to directly harm or kill turkey vultures without a permit from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Here are some legal, non-lethal methods to encourage vultures roosting on your property to move on:
- Install vulture effigies – scarecrow-like models of vultures can frighten them away
- Use mild harassment like water sprayed from a hose or loud noises
- Cover potential roosting spots with anti-perching spikes
- Apply non-toxic bird repellent gel to ledges and railings
- Install ultrasonic or strobe light bird deterrents
- Remove potential food sources like pet food or garbage
For the most effective deterrent, use multiple techniques together consistently. It may take days or weeks for roosting vultures to get the message and leave, so persistence is key. Avoid harassing vultures during nesting season when chicks may be present. Regularly cleaning up droppings and guano can also help make the area less attractive in the future.
What diseases can I get from turkey vultures?
Turkey vultures pose very little direct disease transmission risk to humans since they do not typically have close contact. However, some potential diseases turkey vultures carry from consuming dead carcasses include:
- Histoplasmosis – fungal infection from dried droppings
- Salmonella – bacteria that can cause food poisoning
- Campylobacter – bacteria that causes gastrointestinal illness
- Avian influenza – viral flu strain carried by birds
- West Nile virus – mosquito borne virus that infects birds
These illnesses are usually transmitted by inhaling fecal dust or having direct contact with vulture droppings, blood or dead carcasses. To avoid infection:
- Do not handle or consume animals killed by vultures
- Wear protective gear when cleaning up vulture roosting spots
- Wash hands thoroughly after contact with vulture-heavy areas
- Avoid areas with excessive vulture droppings
Use common sense hygiene and safety precautions around all wild birds to decrease any disease risks. The chances of catching a contagious illness directly from a turkey vulture are very low for most people.
What will repel turkey vultures from my yard?
Here are some effective turkey vulture deterrents and repellents to discourage them from frequenting your yard:
- Reflective items like old CDs, aluminum foil pans, and mylar balloons
- Predator decoys like fake owls, hawks or snakes
- Water sprayed from a hose or motion-activated sprinkler
- Banging pots and pans together loudly when they appear
- Ammonia or vinegar soaked rags placed around the yard
- Low-toxicity bird repellent applied to fences and roofs
- Sharp bird anti-perching spikes on ledges and railings
- Ultrasonic bird repellers that emit high-frequency sounds
For best results, use multiple scare tactics in combination and move repellents frequently so vultures do not become accustomed to them. Continue harassment efforts until all vultures leave and avoid nesting areas during breeding season. Making your yard less appealing by eliminating food sources like open compost piles or pet food bowls can also go a long way in diverting vultures. Consistency is key when discouraging turkey vultures.
Is it safe to touch a turkey vulture?
It is generally not recommended to touch or handle turkey vultures. Some key risks and concerns with touching turkey vultures include:
- Bites – Turkey vultures have sharp, hooked beaks that can inflict painful bites.
- Disease – Their feathers and beaks contact dead carcasses frequently and may harbor bacteria.
- Legality – It is illegal to touch or capture turkey vultures without permits.
- Aggression – Handling vultures can provoke defensive aggression later.
- Nests – Touching nests risks abandonment by parents.
- Injury – Their hollow bones are fragile and easily broken if mishandled.
Additionally, turkey vultures rely on excellent smelling ability to find food, which can be disrupted by unnatural odors from human contact.
If you need to handle an injured or baby turkey vulture, wear thick gloves and only do so with guidance from wildlife officials or rehabilitators. Otherwise, it is safest to avoid touching turkey vultures and view them from a distance.
Do turkey vultures carry rabies?
Turkey vultures do not carry or transmit rabies. Only mammals can be infected with rabies, so birds are not natural reservoirs for the disease. Turkey vultures eat carrion or dead animals so they do not play a role in spreading rabies between living mammals by biting.
However, if a turkey vulture fed on an animal that was rabid, some potential traces of the virus could be present around its beak and talons for a short time. But this would pose little transmission risk. Vultures do not directly infect humans through bites or contact.
In the very unlikely event that a turkey vulture recently fed on a rabid carcass, rubber gloves should be worn if handling the bird. But this is rare since vultures have high stomach acid that kills most viruses and bacteria from rotting meat. Overall, turkey vultures present essentially zero risk for rabies transmission or infection in humans.
How long do turkey vultures live?
In the wild, turkey vultures can live 10-20 years on average. With max lifespans reaching 25 years or more in some cases.
Key factors that determine a turkey vulture’s natural lifespan include:
- Food availability – Vultures deprived of carrion food sources will perish.
- Disease – Salmonella, West Nile Virus and other contagions can kill vultures.
- Predators – Hawks, eagles, and owls prey on young vultures.
- Human activity – Habitat loss, vehicle collisions and illegal hunting shorten lives.
- Weather – Harsh winters, storms or drought can make finding food difficult.
In captivity, turkey vultures may live 30 years or more since they are protected from the harsh realities of the wild. With ample food and veterinary care, their maximum lifespan is extended.
The oldest known turkey vulture in the wild was a 28-year-old female. Turkey vultures greater than 20 years old are considered very elderly. They display slower, more labored flight as they age.
Conclusion
In summary, if you happen to encounter a turkey vulture, observing them from a distance is recommended. Give them plenty of space, as they are federally protected birds and disturbances could be illegal. assess whether the vulture seems healthy and alert. A sick or injured turkey vulture in need of rehabilitation should be reported to wildlife officials immediately but not touched or captured. Remain at a distance, as turkey vultures can bite if threatened. With proper caution and respect, turkey vultures do not pose a major risk and they provide valuable ecosystem services by recycling carrion.
