Latest news with #breeding
BreakingNews.ie
a day ago
- Entertainment
- BreakingNews.ie
Zookeepers in Prague turn into puppeteers to save baby vultures
Zookeepers in Prague have become puppeteers to save newborn birds rejected by their parents. The latest was a lesser yellow-headed vulture chick which hatched three weeks ago. Advertisement Bird keeper Antonin Vaidl said that when a dummy egg disappeared from the nest, it signalled to keepers that the parents were not ready to care for their two babies, despite doing so in 2022 and 2023. A lesser yellow-headed vulture is fed using a puppet that imitates a parent bird (Petr David Josek/AP) 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. Mr Vaidl said the puppet is needed to make sure the bird will be capable of breeding, which it will not if it gets used to human interaction. He explained that the puppet does not have to be a perfect replica of an adult bird because the chick responds to certain signals, such as the pale orange coloration on its featherless head and neck. Advertisement Lesser yellow-headed vultures live in the wild in Latin America and Mexico. Prague Zoo is one of only three zoos in Europe that breed them. In the past, the park successfully applied this treatment to save the critically endangered Javan green magpie and two rhinoceros hornbill chicks. The puppet-feeding technique is applicable for birds that live in pairs. 'The method has been working well,' Mr Vaidl said. 'We'll see what happens with the vultures.'
Yahoo
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Zookeepers in Prague turn into puppeteers to save baby vultures
Zookeepers in Prague have become puppeteers to save newborn birds rejected by their parents. The latest was a lesser yellow-headed vulture chick which hatched three weeks ago. Bird keeper Antonin Vaidl said that when a dummy egg disappeared from the nest, it signalled 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. Mr Vaidl said the puppet is needed to make sure the bird will be capable of breeding, which it will not if it gets used to human interaction. He explained that the puppet does not have to be a perfect replica of an adult bird because the chick responds to certain signals, such as the pale orange coloration on its featherless head and neck. Lesser yellow-headed vultures live in the wild in Latin America and Mexico. Prague Zoo is one of only three zoos in Europe that breed them. In the past, the park successfully applied this treatment to save the critically endangered Javan green magpie and two rhinoceros hornbill chicks. The puppet-feeding technique is applicable for birds that live in pairs. 'The method has been working well,' Mr Vaidl said. 'We'll see what happens with the vultures.'
Associated Press
a day ago
- Science
- Associated Press
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. He explained that the puppet doesn't have to be a perfect replica of an adult bird because the chick responds to certain signals, such as the pale orange coloration on its featherless head and neck. Lesser yellow-headed vultures live in the wild in Latin America and Mexico. Prague Zoo is one of only three zoos in Europe that breed them. In the past, the park successfully applied this treatment to save the critically endangered Javan green magpie and two rhinoceros hornbill chicks. The puppet-feeding technique is applicable for birds that live in pairs. 'The method has been working well,' Vaidl said. 'We'll see what happens with the vultures.'
BBC News
4 days ago
- General
- BBC News
East Yorkshire nature reserve records its first breeding bitterns
One of the UK's rarest birds has bred on a nature reserve near Hull for the first time in its Wildlife Trust (YWT) said a juvenile bittern was spotted at North Cave wetlands last week, marking the first time the species had ever bred on its which make a distinctive booming call, were once extinct in the UK but returned in the 20th reserve manager Tony Martin said it was "heartening" to see that the trust's "careful management of these wild spaces is having huge benefits for Yorkshire's wildlife." Bitterns are very difficult to see and often move through reeds at the water's edge whilst looking for fish, the RSPB their secrecy, the species are also Britain's loudest bird due to the sound that males make in the said that the breeding of bitterns in Yorkshire still remained "very rare", with "roughly 20 breeding pairs last on record", which "can have up to six eggs".Earlier this month, the RSPB said four boomers had been heard at East Yorkshire's RSPB Blacktoft Sands, as well as other places throughout the country. A national annual bittern survey announced in March showed 283 booming males were recorded in the latest results from the RSPB and Natural Martin said: "We have had overwintering bitterns at North Cave wetlands for a number of years, but bitterns need two healthy reedbed areas to breed successfully, as they use one for nesting and another for feeding. "These sightings are the latest success at one of our flagship reserves."Since 2001, North Cave wetlands has expanded from 99 acres (40 hectares) to 350 acres (140 hectares), in partnership with construction company Breedon included planting over 30,000 reed plugs to create habitat which will grow into the mature reedbeds bitterns prefer to live trust said it hoped that visitors would be able to spot more juvenile sightings in the days and weeks ahead. Listen to highlights from Hull and East Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here. Download the BBC News app from the App Store for iPhone and iPad or Google Play for Android devices
The Australian
17-07-2025
- Business
- The Australian
Panda diplomacy on display as PM winds down state visit to China
In a display of when-in-Rome statesmanship, Anthony Albanese has visited one of the world's biggest panda breeding centres on the final full day of his visit to China. With 260 of the furry friends, the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding houses one third of China's total panda population in captivity — a source of pride for the city, with monuments to the bamboo-loving creatures scattered across the metropolis. After a couple of days of high stakes, high-level talks in Beijing, the Prime Minister was all smiles when confronted with the centre's occupants, including Fu Ni, who spent 15 years as a star attraction at Adelaide Zoo before being returned to China in November. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese visited the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in China, on Thursday. Picture: NewsWire/ Joseph Olbrycht-Palmer Mr Albanese (pictured with Chinese President Xi Jinping) was delighted to be at the facility, telling media he was 'feeling the friendship' between Australia and China. (Huang Jingwen/Xinhua via AP) He was also able to reconnect with Fu Ni, who spent 15 years at Adelaide Zoo before returning to China in November. Picture: Adrian Mann / ZoosSA 'They're beautiful animals,' Mr Albanese remarked to his guide as he watched an adolescent panda snack on a bamboo shoot. The visit to the research base came nearly 40 years after former prime minister Bob Hawke visited the same facility and secured Australia's first panda lease. It made Australia the first and only country in the Southern Hemisphere to have Chinese pandas. A panda at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding. Picture: NewsWire / Joseph Olbrycht-Palmer In brief comments to media, Mr Albanese said he was 'feeling the friendship between Australia and China'. 'They are great ambassadors for China and a great sign of friendship,' he said. 'The fact that Adelaide Zoo has the only pandas in the Southern Hemisphere is a sign of friendship between our two countries.' Mr Albanese lauded Chinese counterpart Li Qiang for deciding to lease another two pandas to Adelaide Zoo during his state visit to Australia last year. The new pandas arrived at their new home earlier this year. Mr Albanese has been keen to follow in the steps of past Labor legends on his trade-touting trip, visiting on Wednesday the same section of the Great Wall as Gough Whitlam did some 50 years ago.
