Five California condor chicks have been born at the Los Angeles Zoo, kicking off what zoo officials hope is a successful breeding season for the critically endangered species.
The first egg was laid in January and the first hatchling arrived on March 1, zoo officials said. The following four have hatched in the last two weeks.
Mike Clark, a condor keeper at the zoo, says the adult condor pairs that call the zoo home are currently have an “epic egg laying season” so far.
“We are seeing excellent fertility in the eggs produced so far, and we expect four to five more eggs before the 2024 laying season is over,” Clark said in a news release.
The zoo breeds California condors as part of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service’s California Condor Recovery Program, which aims to revitalize and protect North America’s largest bird from extinction.
Currently, experts say there are fewer than 350 California condors left in the wild, but forty years ago there were only 22 of the birds on the entire planet. That led to the creation of a breeding program to build back their numbers both in the wild and in captivity.
All the hatchlings bred at L.A. Zoo are candidates for release into their native range.
“The California Condor Recovery Program is a critical and highly successful component within the Zoo’s Conservation Strategic Plan,” said Jake Owens, director of conservation at the L.A. Zoo. “As a conservation organization, we are not only focused on saving endangered wildlife in far-off habitats around the globe, but also species that are right here in our own backyard.”
Owens said the zoo has a 30-year proven track record of breeding and raising condors and giving them the best chance of survival upon their release into the wild.
The L.A. Zoo has housed condors since 1967, most notably a bird named Topa Topa, who came to the zoo as a malnourished rescue.
In 2024, California condors aren’t on exhibit at the L.A. Zoo, but there are opportunities to participate in condor spotting events held at the zoo on most days. Hope, a non-releasable California condor, can also be found at the zoo during certain events and demonstrations.
California condors have wing spans of up to 9.5 feet and adults can stand as tall as 3 feet, the zoo says. The species can reach heights of 15,000 feet and have been known to travel as much as 150 miles per day.
Scavengers, the birds feast on the carcasses of large land and sea mammals. Pesticides, micro trash and lead poisoning from lead bullet fragments are known killers to California condors. Recently, avian flu has been a growing danger to the species.
For more on the California condor, as well as ticketing information for the L.A. Zoo, click here.