Is pondicherry vulture still in Florida? » Palm Beach Zoo

Is pondicherry vulture still in Florida?
03-06-2008

ISIS list one specimen still exist in Palm Beach Zoo in Dreher Park. If any one ever visited that zoo and seen the bird, could you please describe the exhibit the bird is in for me? I take photos of rare animals in zoos and I was wondering if the exhibit is photographer friendly or not.

One of my collegue have contact someone in Jacksonville Zoo and said that they used to have a pondicherry vulture but no longer there. Later he discovered that was the same bird that was transfered to Palm Beach Zoo.

I am planning to visit Palm Beach Zoo this year before that vulture is gone. With large number of vultures disppearing in Asia for the last 10 years, this becomes more urgent than ever.

08-06-2008

I've seen that same bird at the jax zoo for many years, but I'm not sure how it is set up in Palm Beach, more than likely it is located in a wooden/wire enclosure typical of the zoo's older section where the bird is likely kept. Only the Florida and Neotropical areas of the zoos have more modern enclosures that would possibly be "photographer friendly".

10-06-2008

Thank you for the info okapikpr. Even if I could get a glimpse of the vulture, I would be happy. There is always the oriental white rumped vulture in Miami Metrozoo as a backup if I don't get anything in Palm Beach Zoo. Good thing the two zoos are very close to each other, make the trip a lot easier.

10-06-2008

and the black necked stork at Miami metro zoo...

12-06-2008

Yep, never want to miss a good shot of any stork species.

pondicherry vulture
23-07-2008

I just came across this posting by searching the internet for pondicherry vulture. And I not sure how this site actually works. But I am an animal trainer at the palm beach zoo and am actually the primary trainer for the pondicherry vulture. He is not on exhibit since he is in training. He is very smart and a joy to work with. What do you know about pondicherry vultures in captivity. I want to do a paper on him and am trying to gather information

08-08-2008

Hi Lissup:

I am very happy to know that you are actually working with this species. From ISIS, this is probably the only bird left in the US and I would like to get a picture of him next year if everything goes according to my zoo trip plans. I would like to know as much about this bird as possible, such as how old he is, his history in zoos or would he be too shy if a stranger like me get up close to him to take pictures.

Thanks