The California condor, a New World vulture that is the largest land bird in North America, was a common species in the American Southwest and along the West Coast until the 19th century, when their population was decimated by settlers during the age of western expansion. Despite being listed as an endangered species in 1967, numerous environmental dangers and pollutants have continued to threaten the birds’ survival, including habitat loss, pesticides, ingesting trash, and lead poisoning from bullets in the animal carcasses that they consumed.
By 1987, the global population of California condors was less than 30 individuals, and their prospects for survival were dire. All remaining individuals were captured in an effort to stave off the complete loss of the species, effectively making them extinct in the wild. But thanks to a decades-long effort by the California Condor Recovery Program, originally started by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the California condor population had grown to 561 by the end of 2023, including 344 in the wild. The birds have gradually been reintroduced to certain areas in California’s coastal mountains, northern Baja California in Mexico, and parts of northern Arizona and southern Utah.
The Los Angeles Zoo has been at the forefront of this population recovery and has enjoyed success with its innovative captive breeding program. During the 2024 breeding season, which ended in June, a record-breaking 17 chicks hatched at the zoo. This broke the previous record of 15 chicks, set in 1997. The zoo’s usual method for raising chicks was to incubate fertilized eggs and place one with an adoptive parent. However, as California condors typically only care for one chick at a time, human caretakers were needed to “raise” any extra eggs, sometimes with the help of puppets and stuffed animals. Unfortunately, the human-raised condor chicks had a lower survival rate after being released into the wild, possibly because they had learned to associate humans with providing food.
Since 2017, the zoo has been experimenting with giving two eggs to a condor parent, despite how unusual that would be in the wild. Encouraged by the success of that effort, zoo staff added an extra egg for some of the parents and found that even the triple broods resulted in healthy, well-nurtured hatchlings.The chicks will remain under the care of the Los Angeles Zoo’s condor team for around 18 months before being released into the wild. The young condors will likely be vaccinated against avian influenza before their release, hopefully eliminating at least one of the dangers they face in the wild.
Condors, conservation, and carrion:
- The California condor has a wingspan of 9.8 feet (3 m) and can weigh up to 26 lbs (12 kg). With a lifespan of up to 60 years, it is among the world’s longest-lived birds.
- As a scavenger, the California condor’s diet consists of animal carcasses, especially large mammals like horses, deer, goats, sheep, cattle, and donkeys, though they also eat smaller and aquatic mammals. While they prefer fresh meat, they will eat decayed carrion if necessary, performing a useful service by eliminating decomposing animal carcasses.
- Interestingly, the California condor lacks a sense of smell, so they usually find their food by observing the presence of small scavengers such as eagles and vultures, which they then scare away. They can travel up to 160 miles (250 km) in a single day while searching for food.
- Since World War II, more than $35 million has been spent on efforts to support the population recovery of the California condor.