Zoo hatches record number of condor chicks to release into the wild

Conservationists will be able to release more California condors into the wild thanks to a record number of chicks hatched at the Los Angeles Zoo this breeding season. It’s the latest success in an incredible conservation story for North America’s biggest flying bird.

A total of 17 chicks hatched at the zoo this season, which came to a close with the last little one arriving in June and “thriving.” That beats a 1997 record of 15 chicks in one season. The zoo credits the accomplishment to a new strategy it developed for minimizing the birds’ contact with humans.

“The result is more condor chicks in the program and ultimately more condors in the wild,” Rose Legato, curator of birds at the Los Angeles Zoo, said in a press release on Wednesday.

The California condor is still considered critically endangered after years of lead poisoning from scavenging carcasses tainted by ammunition. Thankfully, their numbers are increasing with efforts to introduce captive-bred birds into the wild. Even so, condor moms still make much better parents than humans trying to step in — which is what led to conservationists’ recent breakthrough in breeding and rearing techniques.

Zoo staff initially place fertilized eggs in incubators for safekeeping. Just before hatching, they move the eggs to surrogate condor parents. In the wild, a California condor typically only raises a single chick at a time. So, until 2017, conservationists would place just one egg with one bird. If they had more eggs than surrogate parents, humans would care for the remaining chicks — sometimes using puppets to mimic real birds.

But growing up with real condors as parents better prepares the chicks for life outside of the zoo. And in 2017, the LA Zoo decided to try giving a surrogate parent two chicks at once. This year, they tried placing three eggs with a single female for the first time. They found that this also allows breeding pairs to have more than one viable egg each season.

All in all, the zoo placed six chicks in triple broods and eight chicks in double broods this season. Another three chicks were raised solo. All 17 of them are now candidates to eventually be released in the wild.

The initiative is part of the California Condor Recovery Program (CCRP), a collaboration that started in the 1980s between tribes, state and local agencies, nonprofit organizations, and zoos. Human activity had nearly wiped the California condor off the map by 1982, with only 22 remaining on the planet. Fast forward to December 2023, and their numbers had grown to 561 in total — including 344 in the wild.

“Condors are social animals and we are learning more every year about their social dynamics. So I’m not surprised that these chick-rearing techniques are paying off,” Eastern Michigan University wildlife ecologist Jonathan Hall told The Los Angeles Times.

The LA Zoo doesn’t keep California condors on exhibit, although visitors can meet a nonreleasable condor named Hope during its bird show. Luckily for us, there are also some adorable videos on YouTube (does Hope look like she’s smiling?).

What the videos don’t show is how majestic these birds are in the wild, with a wing span reaching more than nine feet. They can fly up to 150 miles a day, reaching heights of 15,000 feet. As scavengers, they play an important role in cleaning up the carcasses of large mammals — including deer, cattle, seals, and even whales.

That’s how they wind up with lead poisoning, still the leading cause of death for the birds through 2022. Conservationists ask hunters and ranchers to use non-lead ammunition, such as bullets made from copper, to protect the birds. Cleaning up small pieces of trash like bottle caps, can tops, and glass shards also helps prevent the birds from eating anything harmful to them.

Every step can make a difference. The first chick hatched in the wild since the collaborative conservation effort started was documented in 2004. And by 2008, there were more condors soaring open skies than those living in zoos.