Despite the wildfires of October 2007, the condors at the San Diego Zoo’s Wild Animal Park had a productive breeding season. We weren’t exactly sure how the fire, and the loss of one of our breeding facilities would affect the 2008 season. Several birds had to be moved to new pens at a time when they are normally settling in to begin courtship. Although they started much later than they normally do, all of the birds performed admirably!
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No matter what species you are, ingesting lead can be fatal. The Peregrine Fund began studying the dangers of lead-based ammunition after the endangered California condors became sick or died from lead poisoning. Their research showed that the large scavengers were poisoned after feeding on carcasses and gut piles from game killed by hunters.
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Continuation from More Nests in Southern California.

More nests translate to a greater challenge for the field crew to monitor the nests and the movements of each pair as they take turns foraging for food over the backcountry of Santa Barbara, Ventura, Kern and Los Angeles counties. Monitoring the nests closely can provide cues in behavior that might indicate there is a problem with the egg or chick.
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NEWS RELEASE
May 13, 2008

BOISE, Idaho – People who consume venison from game animals shot with lead bullets risk being exposed to lead, according to a joint study presented today by The Peregrine Fund and Washington State University at a conference of scientists, biologists and health experts at Boise State University.
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Where to begin? The 2008 nest guarding effort has kept the field crews, volunteers, and even the in-house breeding programs quite busy this season and so far everyone’s hard team work has been up to the task of discovering new nests in the wild and entering nest sites when necessary.
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Twenty years ago, the California Condor Recovery Program began a new era when condors known as AC-4 and UN-1 produced the first egg to be laid and hatched in a managed setting. The resulting chick, Molloko, turns 20 years old on April 29, 2008..

Hace 20 años, los cóndores californianos conocidos como AC-4 y UN-1 ayudaron a avanzar el California Condor Recovery Program con el primer huevo puesto y empollado en un zoológico. El polluelo, Molloko, cumple 20 años el 29 de abril del 2008.

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The California Condor Recovery Program’s breeding efforts began with approximately 20 birds. Genetic diversity was immediately a concern. A reader recently asked:

Since the current population of 300 birds has, over a period of about twenty years, grown from a collection of approximately twenty individuals, how is the resultant lack of genetic diversity going to affect this new population? And, are the birds that have been introduced to the wild reproducing at a population-sustainable rate.
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Thanks to the efforts of many people, eight California condors were transported, by truck, back across the border to the Sierra San Pedro Martir release site on Tuesday, March 11, 2008. This was the first time we transported condors across the border by land and not by air. 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 we can.
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Endangered California Condors Produce Eighth Egg of the Season

PORTLAND, Ore. — Endangered California condors at the Oregon Zoo’s Jonsson Center for Wildlife Conservation have produced a record number of eggs this year. Eight eggs have been laid at the off-site facility since February, one from each mature pair of birds, and the zoo anticipates its most successful condor breeding season ever.
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The first two California condor chicks for the San Diego Zoo’s Wild Animal Park 2008 season have hatched. The chicks, the 140th and 141st to hatch at the Wild Animal Park, are being hand raised by keepers.

Los cuidadores del cóndor de California en el San Diego Zoo’s Wild Animal Park estan criando dos polluelos, los primeros en empollar en el Parque durante la estación del 2008. Estos polluelos, el cóndor 140 y el 141 en nacer en el Parque, ser¡n criados a mano.

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