Our turkey vulture (25-4913) has flown off into the wild! We admitted this vulture at the start of December, and it has been healing from a fractured tarsometatarsus in the right leg. It was found by a highway, so we suspect it was hit by a car. While in care, the vulture’s leg was splinted, and it received pain medication and supportive care. It finished its recovery in an outdoor rehabilitation enclosure. One of the challenges of treating turkey vultures is their unique defense mechanism; when

Turkey Vultures have a fascinating (and smelly!) defense mechanism: when they feel threatened, they vomit! The Wildlife Hospital team knows that any interaction with a Turkey Vulture patient probably means the bird is going to vomit. Obviously, this isn't ideal when the goal is to help the vulture put on weight and regain his health, so handling is kept to an absolute minimum. In this video you can see two instances of the vulture using his revolting defense mechanism! In the first section WildC