The Black Vulture

Sometimes the concerns of environmentalists are not paid near enough attention to, and their warnings go unheeded, with oftimes tragic consequences. And, sometimes, it just so happens, more often than you might expect, the opposite extreme is the case, and the results can just as often be just as disastrous. The case in point here would be the sudden burgeoning of the population of a most unusual and interesting species of bird known as the Black Vulture.

The Black Vulture doesn’t just give lip service to family values-it lives them, it’s a part of it’s natural genetic make-up. It is, in effect, instinctive to the Black Vulture to care for and nurture it’s young, and to engage in a monogamous relationship with it’s one mate, with whom it stays bound for the entirety of it’s life. The Black Vulture even has what seems to be what many might think of as a rigidly regressive, perhaps even puritanical, sexual code of conduct. When engaging in sexual relations, the Black Vulure will always opt to do so in as private a setting as possible. If a Black Vulture were to ever make overt sexual advances toward another, and this was witnessed by others in the flock, they will berate him mercilessly, as though to shame him for his wanton immorality.

If you are a magical practitioner and you are in search of a patron power animal, the Black Vulture may well be the way you want to go, especially if it is your goal to attract a mate with whom you will share a lifelong monogamous relatioship and to have children and raise a family with strong, life long bonds of attachment and caring. Of course, the one drawback to this is that you might well develop a bizarre craving for road kill and other carrion, as the Black Vulture, like his more familiar, better known and more easily identified cousin, the Turkey Vulture, lives chiefly off the carcases of dead animals.

For this reason the Black Vulture, like the Turkey Vulture, was years ago put on the Protected Species list. It is against the law to kill a Black Vulture. Kill a Black Vulture, and get caught doing so, and you will pay a hefty fine and possibly be faced with a jail sentence as well, and this is Federal Law, not state.

Due to this, and a number of other factors, the population of the Black Vulture has grown, in fact has greatly expanded, throughout the nation. Among the other reasons for this unforeseen population explosion is the long ago ban of DDTs, which themselves proved instrumental in thinning out the flocks. Finally, the atmospheric phenomenon of global warming has as well, it is believed, played a significant role in the population explosion of the Balck Vulture. And this has caused some problems;.

Happen upon a nesting place of Black Vultures and you can fairly easily discern what one of these problems are. Due to their, to humans, sickening dietary needs, accompanied by the acts of defecation, to say nothing of the constant vomiting as a means of feeding their young, their nesting places carry the stench of death itself. Problem number one then, is the possibility, if not the probability, that they are carriers of disease which, while having for the most part no effect whatsoever on them, can, in such significantly increased numbers, pose a health hazard to humans, to say nothing of other animals.

Problem number two: Black Vultures like to nest in and around landfills,which, unfortunately, all too often put them in proximity to various airports, where they tend to pose a profound threat to airplanes and jets, especially those that are taking off. They are easily sucked into the engines of jets, and can cause engine failure, resulting of course in crashes. Bear in mind that jets when taking off tend to be loaded with fuel, and this easily becomes a life threatening situation for all aboard. The greater the population of Black Vultures, of course, the greater the probability that incidents of this nature will become more likely.

Finally, problem number three-and this is where it really becomes frightening: Black Vultures feed primarily off carrion, yes-but not exclusively. They are also known to feed off of young and apparrently helpless calves, and other newborn livestock, especially ones that have strayed. One farmer here in Kentucky came across a Turkey Vulture feeding upon the carcase of a newborn calf, and in this case, the calfs mother stood helplessly nearby. Another farmer rescued a stray calf just in the nick of time. Having noticed it missing he set out to search for it, and found it just as a Black Vulture had swooped in just getting ready for the kill.

This has become quite a problem for farmers in Kentucky, and in fact Balck Vultures, once relatively rare in the state, have been spotted in all Kentucky counties with the exceptions of Kenton, Campbell, and Boone, the three northernmost counties of the state.

And the potential problem isn’t confined to Kentucky. While researching this piece I ran across a Blog by a peson who reported a Black Vulture at his residence, staring coldly at him and his dog, and the pound where he kept his dogs. He explained how it seemed to be unconcerned as to his presence, seeming to ignore him as he shouted at it. He then tried throwing rocks at it, whereupon it flew up to the top of his house, where it perched fo some time.

I decided I should immediately warn him as to the danger to his dogs, but wouldn’t you know it? He had for some unexplained reason disabled comments to his Blog, which wasn’t on Blogger. So I had to let it go.

Yet, it brings up a salient point. If Black Vultures might prey upon helpless newborn livestock, what about a large dog? Even if the dog succeeded in fighting him off, it could suffer serius injury.

Then, there is the prospect of children. Young children between the ages of four and eight that live out in the country like to get out and play in the woods and the surrounding areas, one of the more appealling aspects in fact of growing up “in the country”.

Yet, such a child, especially wandering off on his or her own,as they are unfortunately wont to do from time to time, might well prove a tempting target to a hungry Black Vulture, whom the child in fact might not be aware is a danger to him or her.

Then, there are the elderly to consider, or any adult who might fall victim to an accident, or a sudden illness. If this happens to you, and a flock suddenly gathers around, hope and pray they are Turkey Vutures. They are kind enough to wait for you to die. Black Vultures would prefer not to do so.

Because of all these things, you would think the law protecting them from being killed would be rescinded, at least temporarily. But no, unfortunately, there is a matter of bureacracey to contend with in matters such as these, to say nothingof the hordes of radicals who, if they had their way about it, would prosecute you if you so much as killed lice in your hair.

Instead of doing this, the common sense thing, it would seem to me, they have opted for the overly complicated and time consuming procedure of forcing people to buy a license in order to allow for the killing of a limited-repeat, limited-number of these birds. And, of course, you have to have a good reason, i.e., a farmer protecting his livestock. Note as well they included a provision by which they can make money out of this most serious matter. They are going to make you pay for it.

Vultures will be vultures. They will look out for their own interests. Whether they are Turkey Vultures. Or Black Vultures. Or Governemnt Bureaucracey Vultures-perhaps the most vile kind of all.

Finally, if you are a magically inclined Wiccan, or other Pagan, and you happen upon a Black Vulture, and he perches near you and checks you out-well, some people tend to look upon such events as an omen of sorts, a magical harbinger. Most modern Pagans try to look for the good in such signs. Perhaps that will be the case if this were to happen to you. It might even be a sign from the Vutures patron God, Lord Ares.

Or, he might just be considering eating you alive.