Our team has been working hard to make some upgrades to our bird enclosures. We moved Kia and Monty, the king vultures, to our Eagle Flight enclosure, where Niles used to live. Niles is now enjoying life at Critter Creek!

New Eagle Flight Residents

Eagle Flight is the first exhibit on the right when you enter the park. Katherine Rudisel, from animal care, explained, “The goal was to make Eagle Flight more species appropriate for Kia and Monty by providing more adequate perching for their feet and more shallow pools for them to bath in. We also cleaned up the exhibit’s vegetation to allow them, and us keepers, to be able to navigate the space more easily. This exhibit will give Kia and Monty extra space to participate in more natural behaviors, like sunning and shredding up the plants!”

As you can see from the photo below, Kia and Monty are enjoying their new home!

Plans for the Winter

We have plans to keep Kia and Monty cozy during the winter. Katherine explained, “Of course, this species is not very cold tolerant, due to the fact that they live in the northern part of South America year round, so we are planning to make some kind of heat structure for them come fall to ensure they can stay warm! We are also most likely building more mews this fall that will be able to house birds that are not as cold tolerant, and the kings may move there for the winter.”

Heat Tolerant Birds

In the meantime, summer is the perfect temperature for Kia and Monty. According to Katherine, king vultures are the one bird species that actually are completely unbothered by the 100+ degree temperature! 

We will let you know if we move them for the winter. In the meantime, you can look for Kia and Monty at Eagle Flight when you visit Wildlife Images.