Los Angeles Zoo breaks record with birth of 17 California condor chicks

A record 17 chicks of Condor from California were born at the zoo The Angels during this year’s breeding season for the endangered bird species, officials said.

All chicks may be released into the wild as part of the California Condor Recovery Programthe Los Angeles Zoo said in a statement.

The 17th and final chick of the season was born in June and is thriving, according to zookeepers. The previous record was set in 1997, when 15 California condor chicks were born at the zoo.

“The team working with the condors has once again stood out for its efforts to save the country’s largest flying bird from extinction,” he said. Rose Legatoin charge of the zoo’s birds.

Legato said the recent record is the result of new breeding and reproduction techniques developed at the zoo, which pair two or three chicks together to be raised by a single adult condor that acts as a surrogate parent.

“The result is a greater number of condor chicks in the program and, ultimately, More condors in freedom“Legato said.

The California Condor Recovery Program is administered by the Department of the Interior’s Fish and Wildlife ServiceTheir mission is to propagate the iconic bird that was on the brink of extinction decades ago due to habitat loss and lead poisoning.

As of December 2023, there were about 560 California condors in the world, of which more than 340 lived in the wild, according to the zoo.

It is the largest land bird in North America, with a wingspan of up to 2.9 metres (9.5 ft).