Private owners acquired her prior to late 1801 and employed her as the whaler Vulture (English for vautour) in the South Seas whale fisheries between 1801 and 1809.

[1] At daybreak on 15 January 1800, HMS Apollo sighted a vessel that proceeded to attempt to evade closer scrutiny.

[8] Because Glasspoole had left before the resumption of war with France and was issued a letter of marque on 27 August 1803, hence in absentia.

[2] (Although Lloyd's Register (1803 and 1804) gave her owner as Mather & Co. and her trade as South Seas Fisheries, it did not describe any armament.)

[8] She left St Helena for Britain in convoy with the East Indiamen Calcutta, City of London, Ceylon, Prince of Wales, and Wyndham, the merchant ship Rolla, which was carrying a cargo from China for the British East India Company, and Lively, another South Seas whaler.

[10] On the way the convoy ran into severe weather with the result that Prince of Wales foundered with the loss of all on board; this had been her maiden voyage.

The Spanish vessel bore a comparable armament to that of Vulture and a single-ship action ensued.

The Englishmen wrecked the Spanish vessel by running aground as they tried to enter the harbour at Mocha Island.

After Vulture, Folger served as captain of several whalers: Griffin (1807–1809), Charlton (1809-1810), Catharine (1811–1812), and Rambler (1816–1819).

Vulture left Britain on 11 April 1808 under Joseph Christie's command, bound for the Pacific Ocean.

[15] Lloyd's List reported that in October 1808, near Valparaíso, the Spanish privateer Cantabria captured Scorpion and Vulture.