The loneliness of Lockdown 2020 affected not only a human populace confronting COVID-19 in Hawaii, but also touched the animal kingdom, in particular one standout denizen of the Honolulu Zoo, a solitary king vulture.
In happier times, this bird of multitudinous coloring registers a commanding presence, red-rimmed eyes ablaze while flashing a near 6-foot wingspan before shell-shocked fans.
“He likes to show off,” says avian keeper Thomas Bojorquez, 45, a longtime veterinary technician in charge of the South American bird collection at the Honolulu campus.
“This vulture was seriously affected by lockdown. He started coming up to the front of the enclosure, looking for people and stretching his wings. He also became more focused, responding to sounds and to my voice. We have bonded since then and he is less grumpy when I enter the enclosure to do housekeeping.”
The 23 species of vultures around the globe are categorized into two groups: Old World vultures from Asia, Africa and Europe, and members of the New World, living in North and South America. The king vulture, typifying the latter classification, relies on a strong sense of smell when seeking food, as opposed to Old World counterparts mainly dependent on sight.
In the wild, vultures feed on the carcasses of dead animals. Despite a rotten reputation, these scavengers are credited with helping to clean up the land and also prevent the spread of contagious diseases.
Yet populations are dwindling as many species become vulnerable, even endangered, thanks to toxins found in the vultures’ carrion. Poisonings of the birds are largely attributed to drugs administered to livestock; in certain areas pesticides play a part.
In 2006, the Hawk Conservancy Trust in England, and the Birds of Prey Programme of the Endangered Wildlife Trust, South Africa, founded an annual Vulture Awareness Day on the first Saturday in September. A decade later, that initiative had expanded globally, with reportedly more than 160 organizations — conservationists, zoos, scientists, charities, wildlife societies and more joining forces to help save the species. The Honolulu Zoo will mark the annual event on Sept. 4 with a keeper talk and targeted activities.
“We want people to know that vultures play a vital role in the ecosystem, yet overall are having a hard time,” according to zoo director Linda Santos. “King vultures are not at that level. This species is more adapted and culturally acceptable. He is such a handsome bird, brilliantly colored like a rainbow.”
Hatched in captivity in a zoo in St. Louis and arriving in Hawaii in 1989, the king “knows nothing about life in the wild, and nothing about cleanup,” says handler Bojorquez. Weighing in at 9 pounds, he prefers to relax in the sunshine, grooming his white-and-black plumage. Mostly silent, save for an occasional click, hiss or snap of the beak, he also spends hours underneath an overhead sprinkler system, turned on thrice weekly.
Bojorquez for a decade looked after birds, primates and reptiles at a private zoo at the Playboy mansion in Los Angeles. He starts morning rounds in Waikiki at 8, “making sure everyone is still here.”
Some days the vulture can be spied rushing an adjoining fence, tracking the acrobatic crested oropendola (a New World tropical bird), creating a ruckus amid rose-hued spoonbills meditating in treetops above.
Other times, slumped and stooped, the vulture hobbles along a sandy path, seemingly defeated, bowed by life’s burdens.
Turns out the limp is the result of arthritis. “Because they often hunch over, people think these vultures are all doom and gloom,” says Bojorquez. “But they are very strong and can soar for hours aided by air currents.
“We regard our king as an ambassador, providing education for generations. To see such a species up close and personal is truly amazing. It certainly dispels any stigma there might be out there.”
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International Vulture Awareness Day
>> Where: King vulture exhibit, Honolulu Zoo, 151 Kapahulu Ave.
>> When: About 11 a.m. Sept. 4
>> What: Assorted puzzles will be placed throughout the vulture’s leafy enclosure to motivate him to behave as if in the natural world. To stimulate his sense of smell, food will be hidden in logs and branches. A cardboard box, filled with treats, will be provided for him to rip apart with his legendary powerful beak. A keeper talk follows. Activities will be posted on the zoo’s Facebook page: facebook.com/HonoluluZoo.
>> For more information: Call 808-926-3191 or go to honoluluzoo.org/animals/king-vulture.
