The Bronx Zoo announced the hatching of its first king vulture chick in 30 years, which is being uniquely hand-raised using a specially designed puppet that resembles a mother vulture. This innovative approach, developed over 40 years ago for Andean condor chicks, aims to ensure the chick does not imprint on human caregivers. Caregivers will wear costumes to conceal their faces and features during feeding, maintaining the natural connection between the chick and its species, crucial for its development and future release.
Bronx Zoo ornithologists pioneered this technique more than 40 years ago when hand-raising Andean condor chicks using a similar hand puppet cleverly designed to mimic an adult bird.
Officials explained that the carers using the puppet to feed and tend to the baby vulture will don costumes that hide their face and other human features during feeding.
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