Puppet-rearing

{{Short description|Use of puppets in raising birds}}

File:CONDOR PUPPET (26298142818).jpg chick.]]

File:Reintroduction_at_Chassahowitzka_National_Wildlife_Refuge_(6923642975).jpg.]]

Puppet-rearing is a method of breeding birds in captivity for reintroduction into the wild. Chicks are fed using puppets that simulate adults of their species, worn by caregivers whose bodies are hidden from view, thereby reducing the birds' direct contact with humans.{{Cite journal|url= https://www.jstor.org/stable/2641873 |title=The Appropriateness of Puppet-Rearing Birds for Reintroduction | journal= Conservation Biology|year=1999|jstor=2641873 |last1=Valutis |first1=Laura L. |last2=Marzluff |first2=John M. |volume=13 |issue=3 |pages=584–591 |doi=10.1046/j.1523-1739.1999.97443.x |bibcode=1999ConBi..13..584V |url-access=subscription }}{{Cite web|url=https://zooatlanta.org/puppet-rearing-a-hooded-vulture-chick/ |title=Puppet-rearing a hooded vulture chick - Zoo Atlanta|date=12 May 2020 }}{{Cite web|url=https://www.biophilia-fbbva.es/noticias/el-renacimiento-del-quebrantahuesos-asi-se-salva-a-un-ave-amenazada-por-la-extincion/ |title=El renacimiento del quebrantahuesos: así se salva a un ave amenazada por la extinción|date=21 April 2021 }}

Through imprinting, birds associate the first care images with their parents. In artificial incubation of eggs or orphaned chicks it is necessary to feed them by hand as long as they cannot do it themselves. For this reason, puppets are used to guarantee that the birds can be released later, having generated links with their own species and remaining distrustful of human beings.{{Cite web|url= https://www.zoobotanicojerez.com/?id=2778 |title= El Zoobotánico de Jerez al rescate de la espátula}}{{Cite web|url=https://pacoventura.es/blog/2015/01/19/marionetas-de-cria/ |title=Marionetas de cría}}