as a dozen black vultures circle above John Hardin’s fields in southern Indiana’s Scott County, poised for when they spot a cold, weak or vulnerable cow. Unlike their turkey vulture cousins, which are easy to spot with their red heads, black vultures don’t always wait for their meals to be dead.
“The black vultures, now that’s a very, very aggressive bird,” Hardin said. “They’re basically waiting for the cows and calves to die or trying to kill them.”
Black vultures survive, like most vultures, by eating carrion, or the remains of dead animals. That can serve as an integral part of the ecosystem: eating diseased remains that could carry sickness and spread to other animals. But unlike Indiana’s turkey vultures, black vultures also go for living animals: calves, piglets, lambs and other small livestock are their preferred targets.
Seemingly every day when Hardin walks out his door, he sees them. They often are perched on the roof ridge of his neighbor’s barn or settled on a nearby fence post — watching, waiting.
It may sound ominous, Hardin said, and in a way, it is.
The livestock farmer said he’s lost at least two but possibly up to four animals in the last few years because of black vultures.
“When you’re in the animal husbandry business, one of the worst things you want is for an animal to die, especially the way vultures do it,” Hardin said. “Once they get a hold of them, they pick the calf’s nose off, pick around his mouth, face and navel. So then the calf can’t make it very long after that.”
Black vultures hover on the roof of a barn near John Hardin's farm in Scott County. Hardin has lost at least two cows and calves to black vultures, that are much more aggressive than turkey vultures and will attack live animals.
Hardin is among a growing list of farmers who are dealing with what many describe as a reign of terror brought on by black vultures. These birds, however, are protected under an international law that regulates the hunting of migratory birds.
