The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today will release the last free-flying California condor captured for its successful captive breeding program back into the wild, marking a milestone in the history of cooperative efforts to save the species from extinction.
Adult Condor #9 (AC9), will be released into the Sespe Condor Sanctuary near the town of Fillmore, California, with three juvenile condors that are each approximately 12 months old. The release marks the historic return of AC9 to his home territory after 15 years as a breeding male in the Los Angeles Zoo’s captive-breeding program.
The adult condor, at one time one of only eight remaining wild condors, was the last free flying California condor captured in April of 1987 for the captive breeding program. For five years until 1992 - when the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service began releasing California condors back into the wild - no condors were seen flying free.
"After being involved with the capture of AC9 in the 80's, it’s fulfilling to see him returned to the wild. But it’s even more gratifying to know that his release marks another important step in the California condor’s recovery from the brink of extinction," said Interior Secretary Gale Norton, who as an associate solicitor with the department in the 1980s, played a role in removing the last remaining condors from the wild so they could reproduce in captivity and be reintroduced later.
One of the juveniles to be released with AC9 is from an egg laid in the wild last year in the Santa Barbara back country. This chick was raised by AC9 in the Los Angeles Zoo. AC9 will be released from the same release site as AC8, who was released in April 2000. AC8 was the last wild female condor captured for the breeding program in 1986 and was AC9's mate in the wild.
"We hope that AC9 will act as a mentor for the captive-bred, free flying condors and provide them with additional skills for survival in the wild," said Steve Thompson, Manager of the Service’s California/Nevada Operations Office. "Now AC9 will have the opportunity to live out his life flying free."
"AC9 returning to his native habitat in Los Padres National Forest is a historic moment for every organization involved with the California Condor Recovery Program," said Los Angeles Zoo Director Manuel A. Mollinedo. "AC9 exemplifies the success of the program. He did his part by siring offspring, and insuring that his genetic line will be well represented in the total condor population. Now he can mentor younger birds in the wild. It’s a wonderful legacy."
The release of AC9 and the three juveniles today brings the total number of California condors in the wild up to 66, 14 are in field pens ready for release and 103 are in captivity at the Los Angeles Zoo, San Diego Wild Animal Park and the Peregrine Fund’s World Center for Birds of Prey in Boise, Idaho.
CHICK AND NEST UPDATE
On April 11th for the first time in 18 years a wild-laid California condor egg hatched in a remote nest site adjacent to the Sespe Condor Sanctuary in California. The condor parents have proven to be caring and attentive to their new chick. The chick has grown considerably and looks like a soccer ball sized ball of white fluff. Two other nests located near the Sespe Condor Sanctuary are being monitored by Fish Wildlife Service biologists. In addition, the Peregrine Fund is monitoring two nests in the Grand Canyon in Arizona.
The largest bird in North America, condors are scavengers that have soared over mountainous areas of California since prehistoric times, but their numbers plummeted in the 20th Century. Condor numbers declined in part due to loss of habitat and food and from shooting, lead poisoning and toxic substances used to poison predators. Condors were listed as an endangered species in 1967, under a law that pre-dated the existing Endangered Species Act. In 1982, the condor population reached its lowest level of 22 birds, prompting Service biologists to start collecting chicks and eggs for a captive breeding program. By late 1984, only 15 condors remained in the wild. After seven condors died in rapid succession, it was decided to bring the remaining birds in from the wild for the captive breeding program. In 1992, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service began releasing California condors back into the wild.
The California Condor Recovery Program is built upon a foundation of private and public partnerships. The focus of the condor recovery effort is the release of captive reared condors to the wild to ultimately establish self-sustaining populations. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service is the principal Federal agency responsible for coordinating the conservation of the California condor, working with the Los Padres National Forest, California Department of Fish and game, and several private partners. Private organizations and institutions are not just interested observers, but are active and essential participants in the implementation of the recovery program, contributing personnel, expertise, institutional support, and funding. California condor captive breeding programs are operated at San Diego Wild Animal Park, Los Angeles Zoo, and The Peregrine Fund’s World Center for Birds of Prey. To date, 218 condor chicks have been raised in captive propagation facilities. Release programs in California are managed by Ventana Wilderness Society and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Hopper Mountain National Wildlife Refuge; the Arizona release is managed by The Peregrine Fund.
