Condor program welcomes first egg of season

Condor recovery efforts are off to a fast start at zoo's wildlife conservation center 

The first California condor egg of 2022 arrived at the Oregon Zoo’s Jonsson Center for Wildlife Conservation over the past weekend, and keepers hope to see more throughout the coming weeks.

The egg arrived Jan. 16 to condor No. 756. She also laid the first egg of 2021, kicking off a record year at the center with 10 chicks raised. No. 756 and her mate, Maluk, are taking turns incubating their newest egg, and if all goes well, it should hatch in March.

“We’re hoping this marks the start of another successful season,” said Kelli Walker, who oversees the zoo’s condor recovery efforts. “With only about 500 of these endangered birds in the world, every egg counts.”

Fourteen condor pairs are currently living at the conservation center, Walker noted, but a number of them have never raised chicks before, and sometimes there is a learning curve.

“The younger condor couples might take a few tries to get it right,” she said. “That’s to be expected. We’re monitoring all of the nest areas, and will be checking the eggs to make sure they’re developing correctly.”  

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 human 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 500 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 for captive-hatched birds to survive and breed in the wild.

Upgrades and new equipment at the center have been made possible through continued support from the Avangrid Foundation and donations to the Oregon Zoo Foundation, which supports the zoo’s efforts in advancing animal welfare, conservation and education. To learn more or to make a gift, call 503-220-2493 or email [email protected].

More than 70 chicks have hatched at the Jonsson Center since 2003, and more than 50 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.

California condor breeding programs are also operated at San Diego Zoo’s Wild Animal Park, the Los Angeles Zoo and the Peregrine Fund’s World Center for Birds of Prey in Idaho. For more information, visit oregonzoo.org/condors.