Dallas police are investigating the death of a rare vulture found dead Saturday morning in his home at the Dallas Zoo.
The Dallas Zoo says Pin, an endangered lappet-faced vulture, was found dead in his enclosure in the wilds of Africa with a wound that appeared to have been caused by a gunshot.
Those in charge of the zoo have expressed their suspicions about Pin’s death as a result of the injuries. Zoo officials declined to comment on Pin’s injury, but they said the bird’s death did not appear natural.
The Dallas Zoo made the sad and formal announcement on their Twitter account on Jan. 22 that one of the endangered vultures living in their habitats in the Wilds of Africa had died:
This weekend our staff discovered that one of the endangered vultures in our habitats in the Wilds of Africa had died. The animal care team is heartbroken over this huge loss. Please keep them in mind as they process what happened. pic.twitter.com/0fqJc8Uk2Y
— Dallas Zoo (@DallasZoo) January 22, 2023
Zoo officials said they don’t yet know when Pin died, but an autopsy will be performed to learn more about how he died.
“It’s totally unprecedented and very, very disturbing,” said Greg Hudson, president and CEO of the Dallas Zoo.
Hudson said they know there’s a chance a zoo worker hurt Pin and caused the recent damage to his habitat.
“At this point everything is suspicious. Internal external. We are looking at every option,” Hudson said.
Pin came to the Dallas Zoo 33 years ago. He was at least 35 years old and no one knows when he was born. At the Dallas Zoo, Pin was one of four lappet-faced vultures.
To learn more about the tragic deaths that have befallen other endangered species, check out our previous coverage:
The birds are called lappets because of the folds of skin on either side of their necks. Two male and one female bird are still in their natural habitat.
The Dallas Zoo said Pin had 11 children over the past 30 years and they now live at Albuquerque BioPark, Zoo Atlanta, Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens, Cincinnati Zoo and the Dallas Zoo.
In early 2020, Pin’s first “grandchild” hatched and she now lives at the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore. Officials said Dallas police were notified of the vulture’s death because of recent problems at the zoo, such as reports of broken enclosures and a clouded leopard escaping.
Dallas police have not said if the incident with Pin has anything to do with the broken fencing, but they are investigating. Officials say zoo staff have placed more cameras throughout the facility and increased security patrols at night following the recent incidents.
There is a reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to an arrest and indictment in the case. The Dallas Zoo has told us some very important facts about lappet-faced vultures. The birds live in Africa and parts of the Middle East. With a wingspan of up to three metres, they are the largest vultures in Africa.
The Dallas Zoo said vultures are often referred to as “nature’s clean-up crew” because they eat dead animals and prevent potentially deadly diseases from spreading through the environment.
The So says the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). that birds are at risk of being seriously endangered. There are probably only about 6,500 of these birds left on Earth and their numbers are dwindling rapidly.
These birds are long-lived and have few babies each year, usually just one or two. There are currently 27 lappet-faced vultures in zoos across the United Stateswith another 41 in Europe and the Middle East.
What do you think of the vulnerability of animals such as the lamb-headed vulture? Is there anything we can do to ensure the survival of the species? Share your thoughts with us in the space below.
