Engineering team creates 3D-printed raptor puppets for wildlife care

New designs aid bird rehabilitation

Salthaven will receive four fresh feeding puppets depicting an American kestrel, red-tailed hawk, merlin falcon and great horned owl to help its caregivers. These tools allow staff to feed nestlings while keeping their hands concealed from the young birds. Recordings of parent calls accompany the visual cues to make the experience more realistic for the animals. Previously, workers wore reflective masks and gowns to hide their human form during daily feeding sessions.

Students apply engineering skills locally

While in town as a researcher at Western, Joel Sierra, an undergraduate hailing from Lima, Peru, created and printed the puppet heads. A local artist painted the printed forms to match each species, transforming them into convincing stand-ins for raptor parents. Salthaven now holds the digital designs so it can print additional heads whenever needed for future seasons. A capstone team initiated this partnership by creating specialized leg splints to assist injured Canada geese and mallard ducks.

Project supports wildlife survival rates

Salthaven founder Brian Salt stated that birds learn best by observing one another rather than relying on human interaction. Using a puppet removes the human element during feeding, allowing young birds to relate better to their own kind. Professor Ryan Willing supervised the engineering teams for both the splint project and these new bird head puppets. The initiative helps sick, injured or orphaned wildlife return to the wild so they can sustain themselves there.