Turkey Vultures Found Distressed in Biscayne Bay
COCONUT GROVE (CBS4) - Scientists are trying to figure out a mystery in Biscayne Bay.
Late Tuesday afternoon Florida Fish and Wildlife discovered dozens of turkey vultures dropping out of the sky and into the water. More than ten were found dead near Stiltsville in Biscayne Bay
FWC officers brought in dozens of birds to Coconut Grove.
Officer Robert Scholl was one of the first to arrive and see what was happening. He found birds covering a mile stretch of water.
"35-40 birds, and that's just what we saw. And then on the way in we saw a few more. We tried to save as many as we could. " Scholl told CBS4's David Sutta.
The exhausted vultures could care less as Scholl plucked them out of the water.
"They were swimming towards the boat. All of them were swimming toward my boat so that should tell you something. I've never seen anything like it."
Rescue staff from the Miami Science Museum picked up the birds at Dinner Key Marina. They told us 35 vultures swimming is bizarre.
"They should not be swimming anywhere . We find them all over the place but definitely not swimming and definitively not in this shape." said Miranda Dickey, the wildlife keeper at the Miami Science Museum.
As Dickey wrapped the birds up she told they have been ready for months. "We were dreading the oil spill and we missed that and now we are getting this."
Given fluids and warmed up many of the turkey vultures were already starting to show life as the night wore on.
Greta Mealey, the director of wildlife center at the Miami Science Museum said she planned to do necropsies as soon as possible to figure out what happened. As she looked at the struggling birds she said. "Something significant affected this group."
Mealey told us there are a number of things that could have happened. They could have eaten something that made them sick or maybe it was as simple as they were picking on something in the water and became to wet to fly.
"We will save as many as we can. That's what we do." Mealey told us she began to give the vultures fluids. They hope to have answers soon, meanwhile it will be a late night.
Judging by the fact the heads on the vultures are still black the birds are fairly young. The hope is that the healthy ones will be released as soon as Wednesday. Finding the cause though may take longer.
