Condor Taken in Wild for Captive Breeding
Biologists on Saturday captured one of the three known remaining California condors in the wild and transported it by airplane in good condition to the San Diego Wild Animal Park to join a captive breeding program for the highly endangered species.
The bird, designated as AC-2, was snared by a net while feeding on the Hudson Ranch in the foothills of southern Kern County.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced purchase of the 11,500-acre ranch last week as a future condor refuge.
AC-2 will be added to 12 condors in the breeding program in San Diego. There are 12 other condors at the Los Angeles Zoo.
Biologists expect to capture the two remaining condors in the wild by spring. After sufficient numbers are bred at the zoos, releases back into protected natural areas will begin between 1990 and 1992, they said.
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