HERE COME THE NASTY BLACK VULTURES

(12/31/2008)
West Virginia, here comes the black vultures, not as kind as the homely turkey vultures.

The birds have been moving north into West Virginia.

Black vultures are aggressive and known for preying on live animals and destroying property.

Chris Croson, West Virginia director of Wildlife Services for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, said there have been reports of black vultures killing newborn calves, lambs and goats in West Virginia.

Croson said, "It is really not a pretty sight."

Black vultures will stage at farms in the late winter and fall, the two main birthing times for livestock, the birds strike before a newborn animal is able to walk.

They first attack soft tissue, like the eyes and nose.

Croson says the state doesn't have a grip on how many livestock kills have been caused by black vultures, nor do farmers understand it could be the birds killing their livestock.