Blue Ridge Country January/February 2023 - 11
CREATURE FEATURE
tures tend to steer clear of highly developed areas, they
" tended to have more roosting in places where there was
sort of a moderate amount of human influence-roads
or a bunch of different types of habitat in a small area, "
says Hill. In some cases, the birds even fared better in
human-modified landscapes.
" They are extremely adaptable to human environments
because they can roost on buildings and cellphone
towers, " Hill says. " And they also will scavenge
road kill and eat a lot of trash. In another study, we
found about half of the vultures had some kind of plastic
or trash in their diet. So human areas tend to provide
most of the resources that they need, which is a place to
roost and a high abundance of food. "
There's another reason, too, why vultures like to
hang out near humans. The combination of developed
and open areas produces air currents that create an updraft
that helps them fly. Larger than many birds, they
rely on the thermals for lift.
The birds' comfort level with humans can, however,
cause conflict. " People don't like them roosting on their
property because they can be a little bit gross, " Hill says.
" So having your garbage securely tied up and put away
so they can't access it might deter them from roosting
on property and causing damage. "
Although they're neither cuddly nor cute, vultures
perform a valuable service to humans by removing decaying
animal matter, which reduces the prevalence
and spread of disease. Hill gives the example of a vulture
decline that led to an unwanted domino effect in
Asia. When the birds ate dead cows that had been given
antibiotics, their kidneys shut down. Without natural
scavengers to get rid of animal carcasses, feral dogs took
over, leading to a higher incidence of rabies in people.
Compounding the problem: Once vultures start to die
off, it takes a while for them to rebound because they're
slow to grow and reproduce.
" They do have a really important role in the environment, "
Hill says. " So it is very important that we make
sure that they stay around. "
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2023 11
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Blue Ridge Country January/February 2023
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Blue Ridge Country January/February 2023
Blue Ridge Country January/February 2023 - Cover1
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Blue Ridge Country January/February 2023 - Cover3
Blue Ridge Country January/February 2023 - Cover4
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