It was love at first sight for a tough turkey vulture that survived a car crash in Virginia 10 years ago.
The bird openly flaunts her relationship with soft-spoken Los Angeles County animal keeper Dave Stives.
Their bond was captured in a YouTube video published Thursday on the website of LA County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky.
โApollo has a crush on him and is absolutely in love,โ said Kaye Michelson, spokeswoman for the Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks. โShe has this huge wingspan that looks like she is hugging him with her wings.โ
After being hit, Apollo was sent to a private facility in the Antelope Valley, where she had her serendipitous meeting with Stives, her first contact with a human being.
Stives helped nurse Apollo back to health. He recalls her wild instincts during their first encounter.
โShe was a typical wild animal, just running around and trying to get away, acting like a totally wild bird,โ Stives said told NBC4 on Saturday. โShe took a liking to me.โ
U.S. & World
The day's top national and international news.
The facility went out of business and Apollo was moved to the Placerita Canyon Nature Center in Newhall where she was reunited with her human soul mate and will remain throughout her life.
โShe remembered me from the beginning,โ Stives said.
The turkey vultureโs love at first sight was obvious to others in the nature center.
โItโs fascinating to see him handle her,โ Michelson said.
The bird has taken to a form of non-verbal communication with her buddy, "hugging" or enveloping him in her nearly 6-foot wingpsan.
Before completing his other tasks, Stives usually stops in first to see his red-headed friend who was named by her original caretakers before they knew the bird was a female.
โI say, 'hi,' every morning and make sure she is all right," he said. โI donโt think she could get into a fight with me if she wanted to.โ