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A black vulture sits a top of a tree
A black vulture sits a top of a tree at the Panther Island Mitigation Bank, Thursday, June 7, 2018, near Naples, Fla. (AP Photo | Brynn Anderson)

Federal Biologist: Black Vultures are Invading West Virginia

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BUCKHANNON, W.Va. (AP) — A federal biologist says federally protected vultures are invading West Virginia, having migrated from Central and South America about 45 years ago and now settling up the East Coast.

Thomas Elliott is a wildlife biologist and district supervisor with the wildlife services program of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. The Inter-Mountain quotes him as saying the birds first appeared in eastern West Virginia about 15 years ago and have spread across the state.

Black vultures are predatory creatures with some scavenging tendencies. Elliott says the birds kill livestock and pets and destroy people’s property, even ripping rubber off tires. He says the vultures have no true predator.