South Africans smoke vulture brains for lotto luck
Posted on 01/10/2010 11:08:06 PM PST by Daffynition
RIDGEWAY, Va. - The birds are watching Nancy Cox, waiting on her lawn and slowly chewing their way inside her Ridgeway home.
After a flock of almost 200 black vultures moved to Ridgeway this fall, Cox has had a steady stream of 30-35 large, hostile, hungry visitors each day.
"I can't even sit down to eat at the table," she said. "The vultures watch me through the window and fly into the doors trying to get into the house."
Cox has the only home in her neighborhood with rubber roofing. But she may not have it much longer. The vultures are steadily ingesting the rubber, leaving Cox with a leaky roof and shaky nerves.
According to Scott Barras, state director for the U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services Program, black vulture infestations are a common problem in Virginia.
He said the vultures often damage property because they enjoy picking on rubber, although no one is sure why.
They damage roofs by pulling off corners of shingles, and they chew off the rubber seals around exhaust pipes, Barras said. He added that they often pull the rubber blades off windshield wipers while damaging a vehicle's paint with their large talons.
[snip]
(Excerpt) Read more at dailypress.com ...
[slowly chewing their way inside her Ridgeway home.]
Just fill out the census and they will go away.
Sounds like she needs a good recipe for Vulture a l’Orange...
South Africans smoke vulture brains for lotto luck
"I'm from the government, and I'm here to help you."
ping
I’ll mention that to the old beef farmer up the road from who had his farm hands using the “SSS” technique after he lost so many calves.
[Or had to shoot the calves themselves after their “soft” eyes had been pecked out. Angus cows really aren’t especially vicious about watching over their babies]
Maybe things are more nasty in the mountains than the swamps.
*shrug*
Howdy, howdy. Look at me. I'm a cowboy.
One of my favorites.
http://www.farmanddairy.com/news/black-vulture-kills-increasing-in-ohio/9360.html
http://www.squidoo.com/blackvulture
http://www.pestproducts.com/american-black-vulture.htm
Every picture tells a story, don’t it?
http://www.backyardnature.net/n/b/bvulture.htm
Don’t doubt what I say, please.
I live here and see it.
It’s new to me, never seen it around here.
Two thumbs up on this post!!!
I bet I can “regurgitate” a “bolus” of No. 6 shot farther than they can puke ...
Oy, where is that? There’s probably a heck of a mosquito problem in that area, what with the rainwater that collects in the tires.
Cross your fingers that you never do.
It’s like a horror movie.
Just go to Google images and search “tire dump”. These dumps, both legal and illegal ones, are everywhere. It’s really a large scale problem.
Just drill some holes in the d**n things to keep them from turning into mosquito farms, and plop a couple on the roof for the vultures. “Here birdies, have some yummy donuts!”
My guess is that the vultures are using the rubber to exercise the muscles that give their beaks gripping and tearing power, the better to chow down on dead food quickly when it becomes available. Much the same as cats who are constantly exercising their clawing muscles. Give them an attractive alternative to the upholstery (preferably the great outdoors, with its abundance of tree trunks, unless you live in a high-rise or something) and they’ll leave the upholstery alone.
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