Overview

• The Bronx Zoo welcomed its first king vulture chick since the 1990s, using a hand puppet to ensure survival and proper development.
• The puppet, designed to resemble an adult vulture, prevents the chick from imprinting on humans during daily feedings.
• An adult king vulture is housed nearby to expose the chick to species-specific behaviors critical for socialization.
• This effort ensures the continuation of the genetic line of the 55-year-old father, who has only one other living offspring.
• The hand-puppet feeding technique was pioneered by the Bronx Zoo over 40 years ago and has been instrumental in other bird conservation efforts, including for Andean and California condors.