Environment & Energy

Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin

(127,772 posts) Mon Jul 28, 2025, 03:32 PM Jul 28

Zookeepers in Prague turn into puppeteers to save baby vultures

PRAGUE (AP) — Zookeepers in Prague sometimes have to become puppeteers to save newborn birds rejected by their parents. This was the case for a lesser yellow-headed vulture chick hatched three weeks ago.

Bird keeper Antonín Vaidl said Thursday that when a dummy egg disappeared from the nest, it signaled to keepers that the parents were not ready to care for their two babies, despite doing so in 2022 and 2023.

The first-born is being kept in a box and fed using a puppet designed to mimic a parent bird, while another is expected to hatch in the next few days.

Vaidl said the puppet is needed to make sure the bird will be capable of breeding, which it won’t if it gets used to human interaction.

https://apnews.com/article/prague-zoo-lesser-yellowheaded-vulture-puppet-feeding-fb9ef1f50272330cdef501a4c271bc34

2 replies

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Zookeepers in Prague turn into puppeteers to save baby vultures (Original Post) Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin Jul 28 OP

The incredible work markodochartaigh Jul 28 #1

This is STANDARD PRACTICE. Jirel Jul 28 #2

markodochartaigh

(3,728 posts)

1. The incredible work

Reply to Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin (Original post)

Mon Jul 28, 2025, 04:14 PM

Jul 28

done to save the California condor is similar to this.

Jirel

(2,356 posts)

2. This is STANDARD PRACTICE.

Reply to Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin (Original post)

Mon Jul 28, 2025, 06:01 PM

Jul 28

At any competent rehabilitation center, anyway.

I have been involved with raptor rehabilitation for a couple decades now. Young juvies require special handling to avoid imprinting. This includes:

* No talking in their presence, and playing nature recordings in the facility so that those, not building/human noises, are familiar to the right off the bat.

* Feeding them in a manner that does not allow them to see the feeder. This “puppetry” technique is a common method.

* As soon as possible, getting the youngster into a chamber with a “mentor” bird that will raise it, to remove human contact to the extent possible.

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