Hand Puppet Nurturing: Bronx Zoo's King Vulture Conservation Effort

A chick at the Bronx Zoo is fed using a hand puppet resembling a vulture to prevent it from imprinting on humans. This technique, developed to ensure chick survival from neglectful parents, has historical success in conservation efforts for endangered species like the California condor.

A unique conservation technique is unfolding at New York's Bronx Zoo, where a baby king vulture is being fed by means of a hand puppet. This decades-old method ensures the chick does not imprint on its human caretakers.

The zoo revealed the necessity of this approach due to king vultures' tendency to neglect their young. The feeding puppet, crafted to resemble an adult vulture, helps guide the young bird's instincts. "At this critical development stage, we're careful to prevent human imprinting," said Chuck Cerbini, Bronx Zoo's Curator of Ornithology.

The Bronx Zoo pioneered this hand-puppet feeding technique over forty years ago with Andean condors. This method has played a crucial role in the conservation of the California condor as well. The newly hatched king vulture chick at Bronx Zoo, the first since the 1990s, is vital for continuing the genetic lineage of its aging father, who has only one other surviving offspring.

(With inputs from agencies.)