The baby bird is the first king vulture chick hatched at the zoo in three decades
A New York Zoo Is Using a Hand Puppet to Feed a King Vulture Chick to Avoid the Bird ‘Imprinting on Humans’
King Vulture chick being hand-fed by a puppet at the Bronx Zoo. Photo: WCS photographer, Terria Clay
The Bronx Zoo in New York is trying a playful method to get its newest king vulture chick to feed.
On Tuesday, April 29, the zoo released a statement sharing how keepers feed the vulture chick born on Feb. 25, who is the first king vulture hatched at the zoo in three decades.
“The chick is being hand-raised using a hand puppet that helps prevent young birds from imprinting on humans, and ensures it grows into a healthy adult,” the Bronx Zoo shared in its release.
“The information keepers collect when hand raising birds is shared with other zoos for the continual improvement of husbandry techniques and with others working in the field who are focused on wild bird populations,” the statement continued.
Per a release from the Wildlife Conservation Society, the chick’s successful development and genetics are invaluable, as the chick’s 55-year-old father only has one other living descendant. “The sex of the chick has not yet been determined,” the release noted.
The life-like hand puppet used to feed the chick was designed and created by artists in the Bronx Zoo’s Exhibition and Graphic Arts Department. The puppet mimics the head of an adult King Vulture, which sits on top of the person’s hand in a black sleeve, which looks surprisingly similar to the black neck of the adult bird.
“A keeper disguises themselves with a costume, hiding their face and other human features,” the release explained, “and uses the hand puppet to feed the bird inside a brooder, which serves as a nest for the chick.”
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The Bronx Zoo ornithologists pioneered the technique over 40 years ago, using a similar mechanism to hand-feed Andean condor chicks in 1981.
“This technique used in hand-raising the vulture chick incorporates the expertise from many at the zoo, including the animal care staff, veterinarians, and artists,” Chuck Cerbini, the Bronx Zoo’s curator of ornithology, shared. “It is a good example of the extent we go to ensure the health of individual animals and of species populations.”
Along with the hand puppet, an adult king vulture is set up in the enclosure next to the chick so the baby bird gets proper exposure to king vulture behavior.
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