Ha trabajado como veterinario en el Zoológico de Chapultepec en la ciudad de México y como consultor veterinario para diversos zoológicos y criaderos en México. También fue Director del Zoológico de Chapultepec.

Colabora con varios comités, incluyendo la Sociedad Mexicana de Etología, la Comisión para la Recuperación y conservación del Lobo Mexicano, la Comisión para la Conservación de los Lagomorfos Mexicanos, Comité de Enfermedades Infecciosas de Animales Silvestres y de Zoológico (Consejo Nacional de Salud Animal) y el Centro de Reproducción de Especies en Peligro del Zoológico de San Diego (CRES), en endocrinología y fisiología reproductiva.

Fernando Gual-Sill, MVZ, MSc
Dr. Gual-Sill earned his bachelor’s degree in Veterinary Medicine and Husbandry from the National Autonomous University of Mexico and a Master of Science degree with merits in Wild Animal Health from the Royal Veterinary College, University of London / The Zoological Society of London. He undertook the Postgraduate Veterinary Training Course on Wildlife Management and Disease at the Zoological Society of London and also the Wildlife Medicine and Management Diploma Course at the School of Veterinary Medicine and Husbandry, National Autonomous University of Mexico.

He has attended more than 60 courses, symposia and/or conferences and presented more than 170 lectures and publications all relating to wild animal medicine and management at national and international events.

Dr. Gual-Sill worked as veterinarian at the Chapultepec Zoo in Mexico City and also as veterinary advisor for several other zoos and breeding facilities in Mexico. He was also Director of Chapultepec Zoo.

He collaborates with several committees including the Mexican Society of Veterinary Ethology, the Commission for Recovery and Conservation of the Mexican Wolf, the Commission for Conservation of Mexican Lagomorphs, the Zoo and Wildlife Infectious Diseases Committee (National Council of Animal Health) and the San Diego Zoo’s Center for Reproduction of Endangered Species (CRES) in endocrinology and reproductive physiology.

Dr. Gual-Sill is currently the General Director of Zoological Parks and Wildlife in Mexico City, as well as professor of Wildlife Medicine and Management in the School of Veterinary Medicine and Husbandry at the National Autonomous University of Mexico. He is also the Past-President of the Mexican Association of Zoos, Breeding Facilities and Aquariums (2003-2005, 2005-2007)

Condors are scavengers and range widely in search of food. The carcasses on which condors feed are spread around a large habitat and are extremely variable in abundance and distribution. Hence, understanding how condors forage effectively in the wild is crucial to their conservation. Condors also require consistent thermal air currents to conduct long-range foraging movements. A central hypothesis of my study is that the environmental factors specific to condor habitats shape their movement patterns and habitat use.

Condors also have complex social dynamics and form dominance hierarchies (or “pecking orders”). My project will determine the role that social relationships play in condor foraging and habitat use. Studying the interaction between condors and their habitat requires knowledge of their movement patterns at scales relevant to both condors and managers. This has not been possible in the past because of the difficulties of direct observation of condors and the low resolution of tracking equipment. My project capitalizes on incorporating accurate GPS technology into tracking equipment to monitor the movement patterns of wild condors at very high resolution for extended periods (years). Better understanding of condor spatial ecology will provide the ability to model and map condor habitat use and foraging patterns at scales that are suitable for informing policy of condor reintroduction programs and the management of human sources of threat to condor populations.

Tatoosh and Meriwether are slated for a March release at the Vermilion Cliffs National Monument in northern Arizona. The two younger birds will be released this summer.

Last year was a record year for Oregon Zoo condors: An unprecedented seven eggs were laid, including two by condor pairs who had never produced eggs before. Unfortunately, an abundance of eggs doesn’t guarantee an abundance of chicks; three eggs were infertile and a fourth proved to be unviable partway through incubation. The low fertility was likely due to the number of young females in the program. California condors don’t reach sexual maturity until about 5 to 7 years of age.

The condor recovery goal is to establish a captive population of 150 birds and two separate wild populations of condors, one in California and the other in Arizona. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the California Condor Recovery Program coordinate and implement the recovery program and provide oversight of all program partners.

The Oregon Zoo’s condor recovery efforts take place at the Jonsson Center for Wildlife Conservation, located in rural Clackamas County on Metro-owned open space. The remoteness of the facility minimizes the exposure of young condors to people, increasing the chances for captive-hatched birds to survive and breed in the wild.

The Jonsson Center is currently home to 19 adult condors. The 7 eggs last season made a total of 15 since the center was established, and 10 chicks have hatched.

In 2001, the Oregon Zoo became the third zoo in the nation to join the California Condor Recovery Program. California condor captive-breeding programs are also operated at San Diego Zoo’s Wild Animal Park, the Los Angeles Zoo and the Peregrine Fund’s World Center for Birds of Prey. The Oregon Zoo was the recipient of the Wildlife Society’s Conservation Award for “creating the nation’s fourth California condor breeding facility” in April 2005.

Condors, the largest land birds in North America, have wingspans of up to 10 feet and weigh 18 to 30 pounds. They are highly intelligent and inquisitive, often engaging in play. Their range extended across much of North America during the Pleistocene Era, which ended about 10,000 years ago. By 1940, that range had been reduced to the coastal mountains of Southern California, and in 1967 condors were added to the first federal list of endangered species. In 1987, the 17 condors remaining in the wild were brought into captivity and a captive-breeding program was developed.

For more information about the Oregon Zoo’s California condors, visit www.oregonzoo.org/Condors/index.htm.

The zoo is a service of Metro and is dedicated to its mission to inspire the community to create a better future for wildlife. Committed to conservation, the zoo is currently working to save endangered California condors, Washington pygmy rabbits, Oregon silverspot butterflies, western pond turtles and Kincaid’s lupine. Other projects include studies on black rhinos, Asian elephants, polar bears and bats.

The zoo opens at 9 a.m. daily and is located five minutes from downtown Portland, just off Highway 26. The zoo is also accessible by MAX light rail line. Zoo visitors are encouraged to ride MAX or take TriMet bus No. 63 to the Oregon Zoo. Visitors who take the bus or MAX receive $1 off zoo admission. Call TriMet Customer Service, 503-238 RIDE (7433), or visit www.trimet.org for fare and route information.

General admission is $9.75 (12–64), seniors $8.25 (65+), children $6.75 (3–11), and infants 2 and under are free; 25 cents of the admission price helps fund regional conservation projects through the zoo’s Future for Wildlife program. A parking fee of $1 per car is also required. Additional information is available at www.oregonzoo.org or by calling 503-226-1561.