Int'l Vulture Awareness Day at SB Zoo

The SB zoo highlights Flying Scavengers' importance to the World's ecosystem

• California Condors, Griffon Vultures, and Turkey Vultures Showcased
• Fun Kids’ Activities: How Some Vultures Use Smell to Find Food, How Much They Eat, and Why Picking Up Trash Helps California Condors
• Free With Zoo Admission

The world’s flying scavengers are like human garbage collectors – they perform what might be considered “gross” functions, but receive little recognition for their work.  The Santa Barbara Zoo joins other zoos and conservation organizations around the world to celebrate this under-appreciated, yet ecologically vital, group of birds on International Vulture Appreciation Day. Hands-on activities for kids will be fun, yet informative, and focus on the Zoo’s three vulture species of: California condors, Ruppell’s griffon vultures and turkey vultures.  Keeper talks and vulture training will take place throughout the day (check the entry kiosk for information).  International Vulture Appreciation Day at the Santa Barbara Zoo is Saturday, September 3 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Activities are free with Zoo admission.

Kids Get to Sort Trash from Food, Weigh Vulture Food, and Smell Stinky Scents

In California Trails, the Zoo’s exhibit of local endangered and threatened species, a sorting game allows youngsters to learn how California condors can mistake trash for food. These highly endangered birds are making a comeback from near extinction, with nearly 400 birds alive today – more than half are in the wild – but still face challenges in their habitat. Kids will learn the importance of picking up trash in “Condor Country.” Feeding: 12:30 p.m.

Ruppell’s griffon vultures range across much of central Africa, with more than 1,000 pairs near the Serengeti Plain. They use different feeding habits, but can put more than three pounds of meat in their crops (a throat compartment where food is stored). At the Flamingo Yard, near their exhibit, kids will weigh plastic food (altered with fishing weights) to compare a human’s dinner plates to a griffon vulture’s dinner.  Training: 2:30 p.m.

Turkey vultures, ubiquitous to the United States, have a keen sense of smell which allows them to locate food. The Zoo’s turkey vulture is exhibited near Gibbon Island. In a interactive game, kids will sniff eight scent canisters – seven with pleasant smells and one with a stinky scent – and identify which one a turkey vulture would choose as food to eat (hint: remember what they eat). Training: 1:30 p.m.