L.A. Zoo sees successful rearing of 17 condor chicks

A groundbreaking method of rearing California condors at the Los Angeles Zoo has resulted in a remarkable 17 chicks hatching this year, the zoo proudly announced on Wednesday.

All of the newly hatched birds will eventually be considered for release into the wild under the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s California Condor Recovery Program, according to a zoo spokesperson.

“What we are witnessing now are the positive outcomes of new breeding and rearing techniques developed and executed by our dedicated team,” stated zoo bird curator Rose Legato. “The outcome is an increased number of condor chicks in the program, leading to more condors thriving in the wild habitat.”

Breeding pairs of California condors reside at the zoo in specialized structures affectionately referred to as “condor-miniums,” as explained by spokesperson Carl Myers. When a female condor produces a fertilized egg, the egg is promptly moved to an incubator. As the hatching time nears, the egg is transferred to a surrogate parent capable of nurturing the chick.

This exceptional year for condor babies is directly attributed to a revision in a rearing technique pioneered at the L.A. Zoo.

Previously, when the zoo faced more fertilized eggs than available surrogate adults, staff resorted to hand-raising the young birds. However, condors raised by human caretakers have a lower chance of survival in the wild, leading to the use of condor puppets by zookeepers in the 1980s to prevent imprinting on humans by the young birds.

In 2017, the L.A. Zoo experimented with assigning an adult bird named Anyapa two eggs instead of one. The endeavor proved successful, with both birds successfully released into the wild.

Faced with a considerable number of eggs this year, the keepers decided to raise the stakes and try three eggs, which resulted in a positive outcome,” explained Myers.

This season, the zoo’s condor mentors were able to nurture three single chicks, eight chicks in double broods, and six chicks in triple broods, surpassing the previous record of 15 chicks set in 1997.

Condor experts have lauded the new strategy, emphasizing the social nature of condors and the importance of learning more about their social dynamics each year.

“Condors are social animals, and we are discovering more about their social dynamics every year. Therefore, it is not surprising that these chick-rearing techniques are yielding positive results,” remarked Jonathan C. Hall, a wildlife ecologist at Eastern Michigan University.

When the California Condor Recovery Program was initiated four decades ago, there were only 22 California condors left on Earth. As of December, the population has grown to 561 individuals, with 344 residing in the wild. Despite the success of the program in increasing the population, the species remains critically endangered.

In addition to the persistent threat of lead poisoning, the large birds are also endangered by other toxins. A recent study found over 40 DDT-related compounds in the blood of wild California condors, further highlighting the challenges they face.

“Despite our achievements in reintroducing condors to the wild, free-flying condors continue to encounter various obstacles, with lead poisoning as the primary cause of mortality,” explained Joanna Gilkeson, spokesperson for Fish and Wildlife’s Pacific Southwest Region.

The chicks will remain under the care of the zoo for the next year and a half before being evaluated for potential release into the wild. The L.A. Zoo has so far contributed 250 condor chicks to Fish and Wildlife’s program, with some being transferred to other zoos as part of conservation efforts.

In a paper published earlier this year, researchers found that birds born in captivity have slightly lower survival rates initially but eventually have equally successful outcomes as wild-hatched birds.

“Releases of captive-bred birds are crucial to the species’ recovery, especially considering ongoing losses due to lead-related mortality,” said Victoria Bakker, a quantitative ecologist at Montana State University.

“The team at the L.A. Zoo deserves recognition for their innovative and significant contributions to condor recovery,” she added.