"Slight of Hand" to save an eagle

Zoo staff member Erin Sorensen feeds a bald eagle chick brought to the zoo for rehabilitation by the Missouri Department of Conservation. You'll notice Erin sits low, out of sight of the chick, and feeds the chick using an eagle puppet on her hand. These measures are necessary to reduce the likelihood the chick will become imprinted on humans. Imprinting increases the chick's dependency on people and reduces the chance for successfully reintroducing the bird to the wild.