Two California condors hatched and raised at the Oregon Zoo’s Jonsson Center for Wildlife Conservation are soaring through the open skies of Arizona this month, marking another important step in the effort to save this critically endangered species from extinction.

Condors No. 1254 and No. 1260 — who hatched at the Jonsson Center last year — lifted off at Vermilion Cliffs National Monument on Sept. 27, joining a growing population of free-flying condors living among the area’s sandstone buttes and colorful rock formations. A total of five zoo-reared California condors took flight that day in a release hosted by the Peregrine Fund and the Bureau of Land Management to celebrate National Public Lands Day.

“All five condors are doing great so far,” said Tim Hauck, program director for the Peregrine Fund. “They’re roosting in good spots and getting plenty to eat.”

All the wild releases at Vermilion are “soft releases,” meaning the birds exit the flight pens at their own discretion. When a condor enters the outer holding area of its pen, the inner door closes and triggers the outer door to open, allowing the bird to fly free.

During a livestream of the release, condor 1254 was the first to take off.

“It’s fitting that she left the release pen first, since she was the first California condor of her cohort to hatch in 2024,” said Nicole LaGreco, who oversees the zoo’s condor program.

The California condor was one of the original animals included on the 1973 Endangered Species Act and is classified as critically endangered. In 1982, only 22 individuals remained in the wild and by 1987, the last condors were brought into professional care in an attempt to save the species from extinction. Thanks to recovery programs like the Oregon Zoo’s, the world’s California condor population now totals around 560 birds, most of which are flying free.

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 land. The remoteness of the facility minimizes the exposure of young condors to people, increasing the chances that they will survive and breed in the wild.

Upgrades and new equipment at the Jonsson Center have been made possible through continued support from Oregon’s Senators Merkley and Wyden, the Avangrid Foundation and donations to the Oregon Zoo Foundation, which supports the zoo’s efforts in advancing animal well-being, species recovery work and conservation education.

More than 140 chicks have hatched at the Jonsson Center since 2003, and more than 100 Oregon Zoo-reared birds have gone out to field pens for release. Several eggs laid by Oregon Zoo condors have been placed in wild nests to hatch.

Source: Oregon Zoo

Michael DelGiorno