The State : First Captive Condors Mate

A California condor couple have consummated their elaborate courtship in the first known captive mating of the rare birds. Officials at the San Diego Wild Animal Park said the development renews hopes that the dying species can be saved through a captive breeding program. “This is big news. This is the first time that California condors have ever copulated in captivity,” said Bill Toone, curator of birds. “That makes us feel very certain, though not absolutely positive, that we’re going to get an egg.” The condor couple, who reside in a huge flight cage known as the “condorminium,” were identified as AC-4, a 7-year-old male captured in June, 1985, and UN-1, a female whose exact age is unknown. Only 27 condors are known to exist, and all are in captivity. There has been no addition to the population since the last of 13 eggs taken from nests in the wild hatched in 1986.