LIVE: A Ghoul Morning With A Strange Scavenger

These Halloween birdies will haunt you with how helpful they are.

FARGO — With his eerie, skull-like face, huge nostrils that let you see clear through one side of his face to the other, and strange, featherless head, you’d think Steve the turkey vulture would send schoolkids screaming out the door every time he drops by an area classroom.

Instead, says Chahinkapa Zoo curator Tom Schmaltz, the kids love him.

“They’re into anything gross and disgusting,” he says, chuckling.

Steve’s shared reputation with vultures all around the world is certainly one that takes people aback.

They, and the relatives the condors, are some of the only known vertebrate obligate scavengers in the world, and as such, they eat the dead animals other carnivores won’t touch.

Their highly-acidic digestive systems break down the rotting carcasses and in doing so, rid the environment of bacteria and microorganisms that cause rabies, anthrax, botulism, and a host of other truly scary diseases that can take out humans and other animals alike.

They’re the only kind of animal that does this, and yet, humans are often frightened of them.

So scared of vultures are humans, in fact, that the huge, graceful birds are often targeted for destruction by the very humans their nature helps to protect.

A number of vulture species in both Africa and Asia are in danger of going extinct.

Here in the United States, they’re often the victims of poisoning, pesticides and livestock medications.

They are protected, like most raptors, so naturalists save them when they can for rehabilitation and possible return to the wild.

That’s how the Morning Show first met Steve about four years ago.

He’d just been released from a Wisconsin bird rehab, but his wing couldn’t be healed enough to allow him to fly again.

So he’s living his best life at the zoo in Wahpeton, hanging out with visiting wild turkey vultures and making his ever-popular appearances at schools throughout the region.

This morning, Steve was a little grumpier than on his first appearance, possibly because he hadn’t had his breakfast yet.

Still, he’s one of Schmaltz’s favorite animals to share with others, not just because of his fascinating story and appearance, but also because these strangely wonderful birds have so much to share with the world around them.

For more information:

https://www.chahinkapazoo.org/