Photo: Aydin Aksakal / EyeEm / EyeEm / Getty Images
FLORIDA - A Florida charter boat captain encountered a shocking scene while leading a private fishing trip, finding over 150 vultures stranded far from land in the Gulf of Mexico.
Captain Brandon Storin was out on a recent fishing charter when he spotted what appeared to be a massive pile of birds about 35 miles northwest of Islamorada, near the meeting point of the Everglades and the Gulf.
Upon closer inspection, he discovered the birds were vultures, scattered across the water, some alive and desperately clinging to life while others had already drowned.
“It was just a big black pile of them, and you saw lots of individuals scattered about,” Storin told FOX 35 Orlando.
The birds were at least four miles from any land and were seen attempting to climb on top of each other to stay above water.
Storin speculated that the vultures, which rely on wind currents for flight, may have been caught in a storm that disrupted their path, forcing them into the water.
The Gulf’s harsh conditions likely overwhelmed the birds, leaving them stranded.
Determined to help, Storin rescued as many vultures as he could find alive, carefully bringing them onto his six-foot-wide boat.
Despite the unusual situation, he managed to continue the fishing charter for his customers while assisting the birds.
“Never have I ever come across anything like that,” Storin told FOX 35.