Evelyn Alexander Wildlife: Vlad - The Friendliest Vulture You'll Ever Meet 

Often viewed as the harbingers of death and bad omens, vultures are infamous for their dark and gloomy appearance — and an even more gloomy appetite. Fittingly enough, a group of perched vultures is even referred to as a wake. Yet these birds have naturally friendly personalities that betray their classic stereotype, and Vlad, Evelyn Alexander Wildlife Rescue Center’s (EAWRC) educational turkey vulture, proves just that.

Inducted as a patient on August 11, 2018, Vlad was found injured on railroad tracks behind Canoe Place Inn in Hampton Bays. Tammy Flanell, an EAWRC educational animal caretaker and Vlad’s favorite employee, recalls his accident.

“The conductor of the train called the EAWRC after he pulled into the station and Vlad did not move from the tracks to which she was standing,” she says.

The collision caused a fracture of Vlad’s right ulna (part of the wing) and swelling in her left foot. The EAWRC worked diligently to rehabilitate her, and soon she was transferred to the Raptor Trust in New Jersey, after spending the winter with Flanell and other EAWRC employees. The Raptor Trust helped to rehabilitate Vlad to ensure that she would be releasable.

Fortunately, after one year of rehabilitation, the Raptor Trust confirmed she was releasable and fully healed. Vlad did maintain a limp; yet ,due to the fact that vultures are scavengers and survive off of fresh carcusses, the limp would not impact her performance in the wild, which would not be possible if she were a hunter.

After returning to the EAWRC, employees released her, hoping that she would return to her family as turkey vultures survive in large groups of families. Unfortunately, many native New York turkey vultures migrate during the winter, often down to Maryland for slightly warmer weather.

“While Vlad was in rehabilitation, her family likely migrated, and so when Vlad was released, she could not find her family,” Flanell adds.

Without other vultures, Vlad turned lonely, and started hanging around fishing boats for food. Fishermen would entertain her with fish, but soon they got annoyed, stopped feeding her, and shooed her away. Vlad then started hanging around Canal Cafe in Hamptons Bays, where people started feeding her meatballs, french fries, and chicken fingers from the restaurant. Because of her constant interaction with humans, Vlad tapped into friendly nature, which is common for vultures without families.

“She would go up to people in the parking lot and jump on their laps and shoulders,” says Flanell.

This did not last long, and in April of 2020, a customer called the EAWRC, worried that the café would become annoyed and call animal control. Wildlife employees arrived at the scene, and rescuers went down with a net to capture Vlad.

This was when EAWRC employees realized that this was the turkey vulture they had released a year prior. Due to the train accident Vlad has a unique, outward-sticking curly feather, which grows curly again even after being plucked. The EAWRC rescuers instantly recognized her, and instead of using the net, Vlad’s familiarity with them allowed the rescuers to simply pick her up and bring her back to the center — back to her new home — as a “failed” release” due to her high friendliness with humans.

Since her classification as a permanent ambassador, Vlad has become a program staple. Flanell, her handler during these events, states that “Vlad is the best for programs; she shows off, poses for pictures, and has no problem being surrounded by a sea of people.” She loves interactions and meeting new friends; when people come up to her enclosure, she will come right up to say “hi.”

Flanell calls Vlad “the most pampered vulture” because anytime the weather gets under 40°F, Flanell brings her inside. Funny enough, vultures can suffer the same symptoms of the cold as humans, and Vlad will get a runny nose, start shivering, and even sneeze during the winter, precisely why her favorite season is the summer.

Just like a dog, Vlad loves to play. “She’ll nibble at your feet and run around the enclosure to try and get you to play with her,” Flanell notes. Vlad even loves toys: dog toys, toddler toys, even Crocs. EAWRC employees will hide treats in puzzles, and Vlad will always try to solve them.

Vlad’s bubbly personality and friendliness with humans makes her the perfect contradiction to the common and creepy stereotype vultures face. Her fascinating story and attachment to humans, even in the wild, makes her a unique bird with an even more captivating personality.

The center is located at 228 West Montauk Highway, Hampton Bays. It can be reached at 631-728-4200, and animal emergencies can be reported at 631-728-WILD (9453). The center is open 9 a.m.–5 p.m. seven days weekly. Visit wildliferescuecenter.org for info.