Zoo in New York Resorting to Hand Puppet Feeding for Young Vulture
Feeding a New York Vulture Chick with a Hand Puppet: An Old Technique with a Modern Twist
New York City - At the Bronx Zoo, caregivers aren't just using their hands to feed a baby vulture, they're using a hand puppet instead. This method, dubbed "hand-puppet feeding," has been around for decades and is used to prevent the chick from identifying too closely with its human handlers.
King vultures can sometimes neglect their chicks, resulting in the need for hand-feeding to ensure the baby survives. But to avoid human imprinting, staff use a hand-crafted puppet that resembles an adult vulture's head and beak. This puppet is created by the Bronx Zoo's Exhibition and Graphic Arts Department.
Caregivers wear black clothing and conceal their faces while using the puppet to deliver food. This manner ensures the chick associates feeding with a vulture-like figure instead of humans. An adult king vulture is housed nearby, allowing the chick to observe species-specific behaviors critical for social development.
This technique, pioneered over 40 years ago for Andean condors, prevents imprinting - a risk that could compromise future breeding success or wild reintroduction efforts. By mimicking natural parenting, the method preserves instinctual behaviors essential for survival and social integration.
The hand-puppet feeding approach ensures the chicks receive adequate nutrition while fostering appropriate species identification. The current king vulture chick at the Bronx Zoo, the first hatched there since the 1990s, highlights the method's role in preserving genetic diversity.
Though king vultures aren't endangered, the technique's success with critically endangered California condors demonstrates its broader conservation value. No significant negative impacts are reported, as the combination of puppet use and adult exposure appears to balance nutritional needs with behavioral learning.
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A hand-crafted vulture puppet is currently home-and-garden at the Bronx Zoo's Exhibition and Graphic Arts Department, used to feed a king vulture chick that hatched there in the 21st century.Although originally developed for Andean condors, the hand-puppet feeding technique has been employed at the Bronx Zoo to prevent imprinting and preserve instinctual behaviors for king vultures as well.The hand-puppet feeding approach, which mimics natural parenting, ensures the chicks receive adequate nutrition while fostering appropriate species identification, as demonstrated by the current king vulture chick at the Bronx Zoo.The Bronx Zoo's commitment to this innovative approach aligns with the mission of Seattle's renowned Pets of Seattle animal shelter, which also strives to provide the best possible care for the city's wildlife, promoting health, social development, and preservation of species' natural behaviors.
