Behind the Badge
It's Not What it Looks Like
District Game Warden Zachary Biberdorf
One day this past fall, I was at the gas station filling up my pickup for the afternoon patrol.
When I got back into my pickup my phone rang, it was state radio saying that the neighboring county was requesting a call from the game warden regarding a turkey vulture.
I called the county sheriff to see what the situation was.
He explained to me that someone in town has a dead turkey vulture hanging from a tree in his yard.
He said that it was hung up by its feet upside down and the kids from the school are throwing rocks and sticks at it.
The sheriff then asked if anyone could have a turkey vulture.
I explained to him that it is a protected species, so no one can possess them without a permit.
I told him that I would head over there, and we can see what is going on.
When the sheriff and I got to the yard, we could see the bird about 25 feet in the air hanging by its feet.
A couple of adults walking by on the sidewalk asked if I was there to take the vulture down.
They said that it stinks, and it’s been getting worse each day, even growing maggots.
The sheriff agreed it stinks and said we will get it taken care of.
Then we walked up to the house and knocked on the door.
The owner of the property answered.
He asked what he did wrong since there is a sheriff and game warden at his house.
I asked him where he got the turkey vulture.
He said some guy he called gave it to him.
I explained to him that he cannot have a turkey vulture as it’s a protected species.
He said that he did not kill it, he just got it from someone.
I asked him if it was real, and he said yes, I don’t think he would give me a fake one.
I started to explain again that he cannot possess the turkey vulture and I may be taking it with me.
The man started to get frustrated and explained to me that the feds gave it to him.
He then handed me a card with the USDA’s trapper’s number on it.
I then told the man that I will give him a call and figure the situation out.
I talked to the trapper, and he stated that it’s a stuffed turkey vulture to scare off the real ones that he is having problems with.
He said that hanging a “dead” turkey vulture by its feet seems to scare off the live ones, so they made some fake ones to help.
I thanked the trapper for explaining the situation.
I then went back to the owner of the property and apologized for the inconvenience and miscommunication.
While walking away with the sheriff we both learned that day that sometimes things are not what they look like as we both thought that the bird was real, along with everyone else in the town.