CHANGE IS IN THE WIND FOR CALIFORNIA CONDOR CONSERVATION

CHANGE IS IN THE WIND FOR CALIFORNIA CONDOR CONSERVATION
First Two Chicks of the 2011 Season Hatch at San Diego Zoo Safari Park

     An exceptional sighting was caught on video at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park as a California condor chick hatched last week with the assistance of its parents. In years past, the practice of the California Condor Recovery Program was to hand raise the first egg laid by a condor pair, but the conservation program's goals are changing. Today, more condor eggs laid are being left with the parents so they can raise and mentor the chicks.
     Two chicks have already hatched at the Safari Park this year, on March 14 and 16 respectively, and each is being raised by its parents. Two other eggs are in incubators. Whether raised by parents or by zookeepers using puppets, all condor chicks are candidates for release in Arizona, California or Baja California, Mexico.
     Since the recovery program began in the 1980s - when there were only about 22 condors left in the world - the Park has hatched 165 chicks and released 80 birds in the wild. There are now more than 370 condors, and the number is growing as eggs are laid and hatched at the breeding centers at the Safari Park, Los Angeles Zoo, World Center for Birds of Prey, and Oregon Zoo. Eggs have been laid in the wild as well.
     In addition, in 2011 the breeding centers are exchanging eggs to increase the gene pool of each population. One week ago, two condors that hatched and fledged at the Safari Park last year were sent to Arizona for release.

     A California condor egg hatches after 56 days of incubation. The emerging chick hatches with white down and a light pink bald head. When the chick fledges at 6 months old, it is fully grown with black-and-white feathers and a black head. When it reaches maturity, the bird's head turns pink once again.
     The California Condor Recovery Program is implemented by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, zoos in the U.S. and Mexico, and U.S. and Mexican government agencies. Although listed by the federal government as an endangered species in 1967, the California condor population continued to decline, reaching a critical low of less than two dozen birds. In 1982, the condor breeding program was successfully established at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park and Los Angeles Zoo. Today, two additional breeding centers are assisting with the recovery of the species at The Peregrine Fund's World Center for Birds of Prey and the Oregon Zoo. In addition, condors are part of an education program that allows guests at the San Diego Zoo, Santa Barbara Zoo and Mexico City's Chapultepec Zoo to see North America's largest bird up close.