GPS Equipped Vultures To Help Police Locate Bodies
Everybody is fairly familiar with all of the good things that dogs provide. Beyond simple companionship and protection, dogs are trained to literally sniff out anything from mold, drugs to people. K-9 units are now common among police agencies because of the great benefits that dogs can bring a police force with their keen ability to sniff out bad guys, but one animal that people may not be familiar with that could be helping law authorities solve crimes and find missing persons are turkey vultures.
When most people think of vultures they think of an almost demonic-like bird that circles its prey waiting for death. This is because vultures basically survive from their exceptional ability to discover animals that are hurt or dead. Looking to increase their effectiveness in searching for the missing and the dead, police in Germany began using a turkey vulture named Sherlock to scan vast areas of land in search of quickly locating dead bodies. With the unique ability to capture the scent of a body decomposing from nearly 3000 feet in the air, German authorities believe that the vultures could someday be utilized as much as dogs in terms of police work.
Police will attach a GPS tracking system to the bird to help them map what areas the vulture has already traveled over and to quickly locate the bird if it decides to wander off.
Police are hoping that in the near future they will improve on training these birds and making them tamer, allowing authorities the ability to utilize all of their unique talents.
Do you think it is a good idea that police should rely more and more on different species of animals to aid in law enforcement activities?
Should wild birds be left alone to live in the wild?
Source: Fox 11 News
Matthew is a freelance writer who is passionate about technology, music, photography, and decentralized finance.
