Why is there a vulture in your house?

The pitter-patter of tiny feet in our house means something different than it does for most people; the baby vulture is on the loose, looking for adventure.  I get asked a lot “Why do you have this bird?  What species is it?  Why are you imprinting it instead of raising it for release?”

Sev, (short for Severus Snape) is a yellow-headed vulture, a species native to Mexico, Central, and South America. They are not found wild in the U.S., or Minnesota where I live, though they are close relatives to our native turkey vultures. Sev is not a rescue, he came from a breeder who produces yellow-headed vultures for education ambassadors, bird programs for zoos, and the entertainment industry like professional filming. 

It is a fairly common practice to raise education ambassador animals in the house – but why? Doesn’t it just mean you want to raise the bird as a pet? 

It may seem like you just want to cuddle a cute baby animal, but in reality raising a wild or exotic animal is intensely disruptive and requires a lot of compromise to normal life. Vultures don’t make good house pets – they are large, destructive, highly mobile, and their poop is not something you want splattered across your home. They (messily) eat raw meat and a whole prey slurry (mouse, rat, quail, and other prey to mimic their wild diet), which they happily smear onto you or their surroundings. Vultures naturally urinate and poop on their legs and feet to cool them, and when they are frightened, which they then track everywhere they walk. 

Their beaks are meant for ripping and tearing tidbits from leathery carcasses, something they are happy to use on your carpet, cabinetry, or treasured objects. A baby bird with a six foot wingspan learning to fly tends to crash into things, knock frames off walls or tip over furniture. Being able to watch such a wonderful creature grow, form a personal bond, and cuddle a fluffy cute baby bird is wonderful, but it comes at the cost of a house covered in tarps and contractor plastic, forever cleaning up very messy poop and non-stop disinfecting of everything. You have to give up the idea of having a life outside your home for months, at minimum. The work involved in bringing up baby is a continual 24/7 routine of chopping up dead rodents, cleaning, training, and providing enrichment and experience to a young bird. 

Why do it? 

Ambassador animals can be a powerful force for conservation. I know from personal experience working educational booths that having a bird with makes a huge difference in drawing attention to your message and general engagement. Recent studies confirm that this is not just anecdotal. Human emotion drives care and change much more than the presentation of facts or words. Ambassador animals can provide a special, personal experience for people to connect with an animal they may otherwise never see or even be aware of. Research has shown that having ambassador animals present can help greatly increase the length of time and quality of attention that people give to an educational program. They help forge feelings of a personal bond with the animal, help increase attitude change and affective learning. Very important things for something so generally unloved as a vulture! 

3 weeks old and already learning to entrance audiences in the classroom! 

Ambassador animals are powerful for education, but they have special needs to thrive in this demanding position. Quality of life and personal empowerment (through choice in participation and proper care) are critically important to the welfare of ambassador animals. An education bird needs to be comfortable with things that would be highly unnatural for most of them; car travel, being stared at by large crowds, being comfortable with loud noise, odd movements, an overwhelming amount of unpredictable stimulation that occurs when out in the public eye. This, in large part, is why it can be so difficult to use an adult, injured wild animal as an ambassador. People often ask me why I don’t just have an unreleasable turkey vulture coming from a rehab situation. The truth is these birds rarely can maintain a good quality of life, health, and safety in such a position. Some wild birds can adjust, but for many even just being a display animal is a lot to ask, much less sitting on a glove or interacting with the public. It goes against everything natural for them – instinctual fear of humans, fear of being stared at by something with front-facing eyes (a predator), their lack of ability to flee or hide. There are certainly situations in which a wild bird can successfully be used for education, but for their own welfare, most will never adjust in a way they can do the job without detrimental stress. Many birds used for one-on-one experiences and important work in conservation-education roles are raised for the job. 

Being raised in the house can be a great way to set up an ambassador animal for success, but it doesn’t just happen because the bird is in your home. It takes time, understanding, preparation, science, and skill. What happens for the baby, when they are still so malleable, sets the bar for what is ‘normal’.  Any house is a lot of chaos for a baby bird; our house is full of other animals, people, visitors, work, and activity. From two weeks of age, Sev has been getting used to noise, music, loud sounds, people talking, doors opening and closing, weird human objects in abundance, car rides, busy parks, classrooms, and all sorts of things that need to be routine to become non-stressful in his life so he can thrive as a representative for his species. Vultures are naturally shy, and it’s been wonderful to see him gain confidence and remain unfazed at the slamming of an oven door, sudden loud music blaring from the TV, or something falling off a shelf with a loud clatter. He’s gone from fleeing every situation to exploring with intense curiosity, confident around more people and situations within a few weeks at home.

Baby animals are sponges for learning, and every interaction is a training opportunity. Whether you are focusing your effort or not, the animal is learning. Being in the house allows for constant attention to this training process and early exposure to positive reinforcement methods. This sets the foundation for his future training – not just for cute ‘tricks’ but for voluntary medical behavior and program safety. He’s learning to run into his crate if he is afraid, finding a safe space instead of exploding out in a random direction or flying away in fear. He’s learning to step onto his scale for a treat which means no-stress daily weigh-ins to help monitor health. He’s learning to let me handle his wings and feet for exam. Being a part of the household means this training is basically happening all the time, and short, frequent sessions are both easy and accessible. This kind of training can help improve his quality of life, and his willingness and ability to participate in sharing an educational message with comfort and ease. A happy, healthy, eager ambassador not only has a better life but shares a much better message! 

Vultures are in pretty desperate need of better P.R. and more attention, 16 of their 23 species are endangered to critically endangered and at risk of extinction. It is my hope that when people see or meet Sev, whether through social media, video, or in person at a show, they will fall in love with vultures like I have, or at least have a glimmer more respect and interest than they did before they met him. His unusual life growing up in my home, riding around in the car and hanging out with crowds of excited onlookers means more people get a chance to hear the message “Vultures rock!”