Captain Brandon Storin of Bean Sportfishing was fishing with clients near Islamorada in the Gulf of Mexico when he came across a bizarre sight in the water. What looked like dozens of vultures, some drowned, others fighting for their lives, stuck in the water.
While it was quite a strange occurrence, it’s not completely abnormal. According to Brandon’s caption, vultures will occasionally fall out of the sky in the Gulf of Mexico when the weather changes, as the warm air currents that vultures rely on to stay airborne can suddenly change. When this happens, the animals lose the lift required for them to fly. In storms or extreme weather, sudden drops in temperature or pressure can lead to the vultures becoming disoriented or weak, leading to the dramatic falls.
Sadly many of the birds were already dead upon the arrival of Brandon’s boat. But the Captain and clients still worked to rescue the ones that could be rescued, saving at least six of the incredible animals.
Huge shoutout to to Brandon and the clients who were willing to stop their day of fishing to bring the vultures back to the land. It seems like the right thing to do, but there are plenty of people in this world who wouldn’t even think about helping.