bazelgeiss
Terrarian
Vultures have been demonized by media for decades, leading to the harmful misconception that they are cruel, aggressive killers. In reality, this is far from the truth. Vultures rarely, and I mean RARELY attack live animals. I know Black Vultures can be little 
s, but even then, it's not common or standard behavior. They almost exclusively eat dead animals, using the strong acids in their stomachs to break down most toxic microbes (with others being filtered out through the intestine). I like to call them "Nature's Garbage Men", as they greatly decrease the amount of dead animals laying around. This keeps areas cleaner and reduces the risk of spreading diseases.
If you're going to do any further research on vulture diets because of this post, I strongly recommend using official resources and scientific articles rather than news outlets.
Anyway, I feel the mob in Terraria unintentionally helps perpetuate that harmful stereotype. I know this may seem like a very small, or even pointless criticism to most of you. I completely understand that. But as a passionate bird nerd, I do want to try and make a difference, even if its just the smallest change.
Right now, Vultures are struggling to survive in our world. 14 of 22 species are threatened with global extinction, with poisoning being the greatest threat. Due to the previously mentioned misconceptions, I feel that their conservation efforts are hindered. People tend to overlook the vital role they play as scavengers in the ecosystem, making it much more difficult to communicate how important vulture conservation efforts are.
Now, I understand the vulture mob plays the important role of "early game pain in the" in Terraria, so I don't expect it to be removed entirely. Perhaps it could be replaced by a new ariel mob, or have added features to make it less vulturelike (maybe a cobra face?)
Different desert vultures species being added as critters would be amazing, though. I find them very cute, they would make excellent additions to my bird tower.
Maybe killing a bunch of desert enemies could attract/spawn them? To display their scavenging behavior.
I also have an idea for a vulture summon. Since vultures eat carrion and have their special digestive systems that prevent disease, a summon that does increased damage on crimson and corruption enemies would be super cool!
s, but even then, it's not common or standard behavior. They almost exclusively eat dead animals, using the strong acids in their stomachs to break down most toxic microbes (with others being filtered out through the intestine). I like to call them "Nature's Garbage Men", as they greatly decrease the amount of dead animals laying around. This keeps areas cleaner and reduces the risk of spreading diseases.If you're going to do any further research on vulture diets because of this post, I strongly recommend using official resources and scientific articles rather than news outlets.
Anyway, I feel the mob in Terraria unintentionally helps perpetuate that harmful stereotype. I know this may seem like a very small, or even pointless criticism to most of you. I completely understand that. But as a passionate bird nerd, I do want to try and make a difference, even if its just the smallest change.
Right now, Vultures are struggling to survive in our world. 14 of 22 species are threatened with global extinction, with poisoning being the greatest threat. Due to the previously mentioned misconceptions, I feel that their conservation efforts are hindered. People tend to overlook the vital role they play as scavengers in the ecosystem, making it much more difficult to communicate how important vulture conservation efforts are.
Now, I understand the vulture mob plays the important role of "early game pain in the
" in Terraria, so I don't expect it to be removed entirely. Perhaps it could be replaced by a new ariel mob, or have added features to make it less vulturelike (maybe a cobra face?) Different desert vultures species being added as critters would be amazing, though. I find them very cute, they would make excellent additions to my bird tower.
Maybe killing a bunch of desert enemies could attract/spawn them? To display their scavenging behavior.
I also have an idea for a vulture summon. Since vultures eat carrion and have their special digestive systems that prevent disease, a summon that does increased damage on crimson and corruption enemies would be super cool!
