Frieda was born without arms or legs in Conemaugh, Pennsylvania. Her condition was said to be the result of a botched appendectomy on her pregnant mother. In 1933, at he age of nine she appeared at Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Odditorium at the Chicago World’s fair as the “Armless Legless Girl Wonder”. She performed in 1939 at the New York World’s fair and also with Ringling Bros. and Barnum Bailey’s sideshow from 1943 to 1955. She died from bladder cancer at the age of seventy-seven in Costa Mesa, California.
Just in time for Halloween! This Turkey Vulture is headed to his new home at the Maturango Museum here in California.
On this mount, I included the white eye papillae (crusty eye warts, ew) that Turkey Vultures often have. This is caused from their constant exposure to rotten meat.
As this is an educational specimen, I wanted to include this feature to highlight their role as a scavenger. Honestly, this specimen didn’t even have them naturally, however, when looking through reference photos most Vultures in our region do. That’s why looking up reference photos (local if possible) is so important.
thefancywalrus 