Zookeepers in Prague know they need to turn into puppeteers to save newly born birds unwanted by their parents. (AP video by Stanislav Hodina)
\n\nA lesser yellow-headed vulture that hatched three weeks ago is being fed by using a puppet that imitates a parent bird at the zoo in Prague, Czech Republic, Thursday, July 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
\n\nPRAGUE (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.
\n\nBird 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.
\n\nThe 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.
\n\nVaidl 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.
\n\nHe explained that the puppet doesn’t have to be a perfect replica of…
Original source: https://apnews.com/business