Going the extra mile to save endangered vultures

Saving ‘royalty’: The newborn red-headed vulture or Asian king vulture is seen at Nakhon Ratchasima Zoo, Thailand. — Reuters

Four times a day, Thai conservationist Watchiradol Phangpanya puts on a black, long-sleeved shirt, red gloves, and a red balaclava, hoping to imitate an endangered red-headed vulture feeding its baby.

The pinkish chick, covered in white fuzz that will turn into black feathers as it grows, is the first red-headed, or Asian king vulture, to be bred in Asia and only the second in the world.