Plumber investigates foul smell under a house—then he sees the vultures

Gary Gilbert, a plumber with Cowboy Plumbing Services in Comal County, Texas, was called to investigate a reported sewer gas smell in a bathroom and instead found two vultures nesting beneath the house. Gilbert said the vultures had laid eggs and been living there a while, and that the actual smell source — a dead deer — was unrelated, coming from a different bathroom entirely.

Vultures are scavengers that play a documented ecological role in waste recycling and disease control, per a 2024 study cited in the report. Gilbert said the birds weren't dangerous, and both plumber and vultures went on with their day once the deer was removed.

The full dispatch is available from the source below.