Elmwood Park Zoo Gets Creative In Scaring Off Vultures

NORRISTOWN, PA — Zookeepers at Norristown's Elmwood Park Zoo have noticed something different lately around the area.

Large wild black vultures are in the population growing business, and business is booming.

While the zoo has fallen short of calling for vulture scalps, they do recognize that the vultures can pose a threat to certain animals.

That's why they recently announced that they are taking on a hawkish stance on the growing population of vultures. They are working with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on a interesting deterrent.

They are creating "effigies," artificial dead vultures that use real vulture feathers and which reinforce to the birds that they not welcome at Elmwood.

The fake vultures are hung upside down in trees around the park to indicate the zoo as a no fly zone.

Officials said that the effigies would stay up for several months.

Image courtesy Elmwood Park Zoo