Idaho Falls Zoo’s oldest bird dies

The oldest bird at the Idaho Falls Zoo at Tautphaus Park has died, the city said Friday.

The female turkey vulture, who was 42 when she died, was brought to the Potawatomi Zoo in Indiana in 1975 as a wild-born bird that sustained an injury that prevented her from returning to the wild. She was estimated to be at least two years old at the time. She came to Idaho Falls in 1995.

When she died, she was the second-oldest animal at the zoo, surpassed by the large Aldabra tortoises.

Turkey vultures typically live 15 to 20 years in the wild and about 30 years in captivity, the city said.

Now the oldest birds at the zoo are a 40-year-old male flamingo and a 28-year-old male penguin.