Schertz Animal Services rescues turkey vulture with frozen wings during wintry weather

Schertz Animal Services cares for furry and feathered friends alike

Schertz Animal Services officers rescued a turkey vulture whose wings were covered in ice during Thursday's wintry weather. (Schertz Animal Services)

SCHERTZ, Texas – It’s not just cute furry animals that Schertz Animal Services cares for — they also look out for the carcass-eating feathered kind.

On Thursday, a woman called animal control officers to her home because she said there was a large black bird in her yard.

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The officers found a turkey vulture whose wings were covered in ice, making it unable to fly.

The officers took him to the shelter so he could warm up overnight.

Schertz Animal Services officers rescued a turkey vulture whose wings were covered in ice during Thursday's wintry weather. (Schertz Animal Services)

“He was definitely ready to go home this morning,” Schertz Animal Services posted on Friday along with a video showing the bird being released and flying away.

The turkey vulture is surely appreciating the chance to scavenge again.

Bernice Phillips, an animal service technician with Schertz Animal Services, says in addition to rescuing lost cats and dogs, they frequently relocate wild animals including possums, raccoons, snakes and armadillos.

“In the summer we see an increase in baby bunnies, foxes, and porcupines,” Phillips said. “Some unusual animals (we’ve rescued) have been a ram, a llama, and an ibex.”

Phillips said right now they’re seeing an increase of cats hiding in the engines of cars to keep warm.

Watch the video of the turkey vulture’s release:

We wanted to share a video of what our Animal Control Officers picked up: a very frozen Turkey vulture. His wings were covered in ice so he could not move to a warmer location. We were able to keep him warm overnight. He was definitely ready to go home this morning.

Posted by Schertz Animal Services on Friday, February 4, 2022

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Julie Moreno has worked in local television news for more than 25 years. She came to KSAT as a news producer in 2000. After producing thousands of newscasts, she transitioned to the digital team in 2015. She writes on a wide variety of topics from breaking news to trending stories and manages KSAT’s daily digital content strategy.