Ultimately, 11 eggs were laid here at the Wild Animal Park. Eight were fertile and three were infertile. Of the fertile eggs, one died very early in development (perhaps after the first few days of growth) and five have hatched. We’re still waiting for the other two. One is due at the end of May, while the last egg is due in the middle of June.

Of the three infertile eggs, one was produced by a pair of younger birds – this sometimes happens when birds are gaining nesting experience- and two were laid by a bird that was not housed with a male. This was our big surprise of the season! Itaxmay, our mentor for the Baja-bound condors laid two eggs while she was housed with three young birds waiting to be shipped to Mexico for release. Normally, Itaxmay and the Baja cohort are housed in a facility deep in the backcountry of the Wild Animal Park. The wildfire burned through their large flight pen and it wasn’t safe to return them after the fire. So, they were housed in our breeding facility, which is equipped with a nesting chamber. With access to this chamber, and stimulated by the courtship displays of the pair housed in the pen next door, Itaxmay surprised us all by laying her first egg – and her second one was laid 30 days later!

The five chicks that have already hatched are all healthy and growing quickly. Three are being puppet-raised and should eventually be released in Baja California. Two others are being raised by their parents and may be released in either California or Arizona.

The oldest puppet-raised chick is named Sitow (say “SEE-toe”), which means, “to cleanse with smoke from burning sage” in Chumash. Sitow was the first chick to hatch after the fire. The second chick is Yinci (say “YIN-see”), a Chumash word for “to get hot.” Aqshwalaw (say “ahk-SHWAH-lah”) hatched from an egg that was laid on Valentine’s Day, so we thought it appropriate to name it the Chumash word for “love.”

The two chicks being parent-raised are named Oxkon (say “OH-cone”) and Ich-Ich (say “EECH-eech”). They are also both Chumash words; Oxkon means “thunder” and Ich-Ich means “younger sibling.” Sitow and Oxkon are siblings, as are Yinci and Ich-Ich.

We’ll keep you posted on the last two eggs, as well as progress on all of the chicks’ growth. Stay tuned!

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As complicated as flying the birds to the site is, the ground route proved even more troublesome. Even with the best advanced preparation for this trip we ended up delayed at the border for several hours more than expected, which convinced me that in the future we’ll be flying the birds to Mexico whenever possible. Luckily the cool temperature day made the trip tolerable for the birds and by that evening the birds were jockeying for position high up on release site aviary perches. They will remain in quarantine at the site for about a month and will be tested for specific diseases by SAGARPA (USDA counterpart) before they can be re-released.

Once we have permission from Mexico, we will be able to dramatically reduce the risk of food contamination by testing all carcasses and animal parts given to the birds with our new digital, field x-ray machine.

Many groups and individuals helped make this condor recovery effort a success, starting with Juan and Catalina in the field trapping, testing and helping to move the birds to San Diego, followed by the efforts of the veterinarians and medical staff at the Wild Animal Park’s Paul Harter Veterinary Medical Center, organized and coordinated by Dr. Jeff Zuba. Managing the isolation and medical treatment of such a large group (beginning with 11 birds) was a challenge for the keeper/vet staff. Valerie Stoddard now has the International Health Certificate process engrained in her mind. Thanks also to our new condor post doctoral fellow, James Sheppard and vet keepers for doing condor watch while they were in the recuperation pens.

Thanks to Elvia de la Cruz and Eduardo Peters in INE for the fast work with the Mexico CITES and the HRZ and Dave Rimlinger and Carol Dittmer for hanging in there with the US CITES export permits. Dr. Fernando Sanchez continues to do the amazing job of coordinating passage through the frenzy of stamps and signatures from four agencies at the Mexican border, which are required to move the birds from one country to the other. Sheila and Fatima from the Wild Animal Park’s condor department helped drive birds back to the Sierra. Without these folks and more, we would not have a condor release program in Baja.

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State Assemblyman Pedro Nava was there, issuing a challenge to the Governor to come to Santa Barbara to sign his bill (AB821) banning the use of lead ammunition in the range of the California condor. (It was enacted the next day in Sacramento). The Ridley-Tree Condor Preservation Act is named for longtime Zoo supporters, the late Paul Ridley-Tree and his wife, Leslie. Paul was a very kind and generous man; a true gentleman. The plaza of our condor exhibit is also named for him.

At that October event, I also met some of our program partners for the first time: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Marc Weitzel, Christopher J. Barr and Richard Posey. We were in high spirits – the exhibit was finally underway! Well… it took four more months, but demolition has started and we are now truly “under construction.” The California Trails complex will feature several endangered species native to the state, specifically the Central Coast – not just condors. We’re also renovating exhibits of Channel Island fox, bald eagle, desert tortoise, and creating a new space for reptiles and amphibians from the Los Padres National Forest. We are removing the playground for the tortoises, as the condors need “quieter neighbors” (a new play area near the Zoo Train opens next month).

Up to six birds will be on view in their hilltop aviary overlooking part of their historic range, the Santa Ynez Mountains. The California Condor Recovery Team will determine which individual birds will come to Santa Barbara, based on the needs of the program. As the population grows, there is a need for long-term housing of birds which, for any number of reasons, cannot be released into the wild. There are no plans for condor breeding at the Santa Barbara Zoo. The exhibit is a little over 6,000 square feet and has 174,000 cubic feet. It is in an area that was not really used to house animals — it has redwood trees and a stream which fills two different pools.

Alan Varsik, our director of animals programs and conservation, tells me that studies in the field show that the birds make use of water. Hopefully, they will here. The exhibit is situated on a steep hillside, enclosed with woven stainless steel mesh. From the top, the public can get close to the birds, should they be perched on that rockwork, and can see inside a rockwork “cave.” Below, a boardwalk offers terrific views of the birds above, of the nearby Andree Clark Bird Refuge and of the distinct mountains. Talk about prime Santa Barbara real estate! They’ll have the best views in town and some room to glide.

We’re all thrilled that condors are coming to our Zoo. They will really help us tell the story of the species in “our own backyards” and, hopefully, inspire our guests to help with the recovery of not only condors, but these other local species. We’ll keep you up to date as construction progresses. It will be about a year, start to finish, before California Trails opens.

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The breeding season here at the San Diego Zoo’s Wild Animal Park usually begins in mid-January, but because of the recent wild fires and evacuation we were not sure how our breeding pairs would be affected. We were glad to finally see our first courtship display on Nov. 10, 2007. First thing in the morning on Feb. 5, we were thrilled to find Molloko eating bones and gulping water, the initial telltale signs that an egg is on the way.

Our second egg, produced by Nojoqui (condor 44) and Almiyi (condor 32), did not make us wait at all. Almiyi, the most prolific female of the California Condor Recovery Program, laid her 41st egg just over 25 hours after Molloko laid her 27th. The youngest female here at the Wild Animal Park laid our surprise third egg. This is only the second season that Simerrye (condor No. 221) and Ojja (No. 264) have been together as a pair. Last year Ojja laid her very first egg, and this year, on Tuesday, Feb, 12, she laid her second. Since we had observed her very eagerly eating on Sunday and playing with Simerrye in their pen on Monday, we were shocked when we found that she had laid an egg on Tuesday morning. Unfortunately this egg was not fertile, but we have great hope for this pair in the years to come.

Our largest male, Sisquoc (condor No. 28), and one of our smallest females, Shatash (No. 54), produced our fourth egg on Valentine’s Day. Sisquoc is quite an amazing bird and a very special condor for the Program. He was the very first California condor to hatch in captivity, and he makes sure we do not forget that. Their egg, we are happy to say is fertile.Valentine’s Day was quite an eventful day for us because our Baja mentor also laid that day. Itaxmay (No. 141) and the Baja cohort had to be relocated to the main condor facility because the wild fires that burned through the Wild Animal Park compromised their pen. Itaxmay’s hormones were probably set off by the presence of five adult males in her immediate vicinity. This is the first egg this 12-year-old female has ever laid.

Altogether we have seven breeding pairs here at the Wild Animal Park, and we are still very patiently and eagerly waiting for eggs from the other three pairs. We will just have to wait and see what the delay to the season does to our double clutching efforts this year. Our greatest hope is that it will not have a negative effect on our contribution to the population this year.

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Two members of the Chapultepec Zoo’s staff caught a California condor in preparation for its yearly veterinary check up.

Michael Mace, San Diego Zoo’s Wild Animal Park curator of birds restrained a California condor while Dr. Fernando Gual-Sill, general director of Zoological Parks and Wildlife in Mexico City, listened to the bird’s vital at the Chapultepec Zoo in January 2008.

In the end, the birds were healthy and the partners joined together with members of the U.S. Embassy in Mexico in front of the condor exhibit to discuss future plans for the Chapultepec Zoo’s involvement in the recovery of North America’s largest bird.

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Along with the staff at the Mexico City zoo, we preformed annual health exams on two California condors that we sent from the San Diego Zoo’s Wild Animal Park to Chapultepec Zoo in 2007. This endeavor was mutually beneficial by exchanging medical information and share condor management and husbandry protocols.

On the evening of the Jan. 16 we met with representatives from INE, PROFEPA, US Embassy, USFWS and Chapultepec Zoo staff to discuss the next phase of the Zoo’s involvement in the California Condor Recovery Program that would include the development of a breeding facility at Chapultepec Zoo. Offspring produced through this facility would be considered release candidates to support the San Diego Zoo’s Baja California release efforts.

During the development of this international program Aeromexico has been generously participating by providing airline tickets to participants as well as cargo space to safely transfer condors to Mexico City.

This additional program in Mexico City has been another milestone for the California Condor Recovery Program. The arrival of the two condors from the Wild Animal Park last year marks the first time in history that the California condor has been in public view outside the US.

Everyone that has been involved in the effort has been so helpful as we continue to collaborate internationally to save this unique species.

Michael Mace is Curator of Birds at the San Diego Zoo’s Wild Animal Park.

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It was a productive year for California. The breeding effort for the season was 36 percent out of 21 adults that are six years of age or older. Southern California had eight pairings involved in courtship behavior at the start of the 2007 season. Four of these pairs produced nests. One pair that did not nest had attempted to nest the year prior, condors No. 98 and No. 112. It is unknown why this pair failed to produce an egg though it might relate to the previous mate, condor 216, competing for the male’s attention. A second pair that was observed in courtship that failed to nest was condors 237 and 214 that were successful in 2006. A combination of lead treatment and post fledgling care likely prevented their 2007 attempt. The final two non-nesting pairs both involved males that just turned six years old this season. In 2007, one of the four pairs to nest was a first time pairing, condors 206 and 255. No. 125 and No. 111 were involved in their fourth nesting attempt in the wild, returning from their period at the San Diego Zoo’s Wild Animal Park where they produced condor 417. Condor No. 21 (AC9) and No. 192 also made their fourth attempt this year. Condor 107 and 161 nested for the third time.

Egg fertility was 75 percent. The egg laid by No. 111 was infertile. Transplanting a viable egg from the Wild Animal Park prevented nest failure. The nest history for condors 21 and 192 indicated questionable egg viability with only 33 percent hatching success. We therefore preemptively transplanted this pair’s egg as a means to determine egg health. The first egg used to substitute the dummy egg that this pair incubated failed to hatch due to malposition. The pair’s original egg was then used as the second replacement egg, which hatched successfully. During the egg stage, there were seven entries performed on the nests. One was for a fertility check of the first time pair’s egg and all others were while performing aforementioned egg transplants. Only a single micro-trash item was recovered from the five nests that were entered during the egg stage. One nest (condors 107 and 161) was not entered during the egg stage because of the 100 percent hatching success observed during their previous two attempts.

Joseph Brandt will continue this story with specific information on how each chick hatched in 2007 faired in part two of this blog. Stay tuned for 2007 California Condor Breeding Season - The Chick Phase

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The many hours of observation contributed toward behavioral data that have been used to enlighten concerns such as egg failure, extra pair interference, eagle aggression and trash ingestion. These observations identified points in time where it was necessary to make interventions on behalf of the wellbeing of a chick or egg. Members of volunteer clean up parties enacted an offensive against trash being brought to nests by cleaning up known problem areas that our pairs have frequented. For this, we extend our thanks.

The US Fish & Wildlife Service would also like to acknowledge and give many thanks to all of our partners who have helped make this season a success. The Santa Barbara Zoo (specifically Alan Varsik, Estelle Sandhaus and Shaun Putz, who is now with Peregrine Fund) has been a strong new partner in the field as co-creators of this season’s nest guarding program, providing assistance in nest entries, nest observation, volunteer recruitment, volunteer training and data entry. They also provided a contingency fund for helicopter operations in California.

The Los Angeles Zoo played an integral role in providing handler and veterinary support for nest entries and providing many opportunities to help teach the techniques involved in handling condor eggs and chicks of a variety of ages. In turn, the Pinnacles National Monument provided the opportunity for many of those involved with nest entries to receive training and experience working on high angle terrain. These training opportunities translated into not having a single injury to staff or birds during nest entries this season.

The San Diego Zoo’s Wild Animal Park also provided support with a captive laid egg that is now a fledged chick, increasing our success this season by 25 percent, necropsy support for condor 443, as well as assistance from Dr. Mike Wallace in training and support with tagging and placement of transmitters on the chicks. Finally, Ventura County Search and Rescue provided helicopter support early on in the season during egg transplants. An 11-month season has meant a huge commitment of time and energy from volunteer observers to staff from partner agencies! We are extremely grateful for all the help and assistance. We look forward to future nesting seasons as we make real progress towards creation of a self-sustaining wild population.

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