'Vulture Awareness Day' at aquarium defends defamed bird

VIRGINIA BEACH

Carol Ann Curran thinks vultures are awesome, and she wants other people to think they are too.

So to educate folks about the birds and their role in the ecosystem, the conservation education specialist helped host Vulture Awareness Day at the Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center on Saturday.

She got some assistance from one of the aquarium's four turkey vultures, 3-year-old Cathartes. He showed off his 6-foot wingspan as Curran answered questions from children and their families.

Does he bite?

Yes.

Does he kill his food?

No.

What does he eat?

At the aquarium, Cathartes dines on dead birds, rodents and sometimes cat food, Curran said. In the wild, he'd eat "anything that's dead," she said.

"They're the cleanup crew of the animal world," she told the audience. By eating dead animals, they help prevent disease, she added.

The aquarium's event was part of a worldwide effort to teach people about vultures. In recent years, habitat destruction has severely curtailed their population, so the Association of Zoos and Aquariums "wanted to come up with a way for people to be aware of what's going on," Curran said.

"We're trying to increase the awareness of how cool and important vultures are," she said, "and dispose of the myths some people do have."

Some people are afraid vultures will swoop down on them or attack small pets or children, but they won't, she said. Only a few species of vultures will attack small or injured animals. Most prefer food that's already dead, she said.

Others think vultures spread disease, but they prevent sickness by cleaning up carcasses, Curran said. Their bodies are designed to process bacteria that would be harmful to other living organisms, she said.

At the event, children mixed up fake vulture vomit and practiced throwing it at photos of the birds' predators. Vultures throw up to ward off threats, Curran said.

They also crafted vulture hand puppets and played an Operation-style game to see how a vulture would eat a possum carcass.

"I think it was awesome!" said 5-year-old Ely Staley after meeting Cathartes.

"They're pretty creepy," said Monica Hill, who brought her two children from Norfolk. But "it's great they're getting some education about animals."

Kathy Adams, (757) 222-5155, kathy.adams@pilotonline.com