Captive Condor Produces Egg, Hope for Birds

The first egg produced by a captive breeding pair of California condors was laid Thursday, a critical success for scientists attempting to save the endangered species, officials at the San Diego Wild Animal Park said.

What the scientists don’t know is whether there is an embryo in the egg, and they won’t until it is “candled” Monday. At that time, they will shine a high-intensity light behind the egg in the hope of seeing an embryo, according to San Diego Zoo spokesman Jeff Jouett.

If the egg, laid by a condor designated UN1, hatches at the end of a two-month incubation, it will mark the first time a California condor has been conceived in captivity, park officials said.

Only 27 Left

Only 27 of the birds exist, all in captivity, according to park spokesman Tom Hanscom.

The egg was laid at about 2 p.m. and was left with the mother for about 25 minutes before biologists moved it to an electronic incubator.

The Wild Animal Park near Escondido is home to 14 of the rare birds, which are kept in enclosures not viewed by the public. The other 13 are similarly housed at the Los Angeles Zoo.

Park officials could not immediately be reached for comment after office hours Thursday.

Lead Poisoning in Wild

California condors, which have a wingspan of about nine feet, are dark reddish-brown, with a curved beak typical of condors. The birds were decimated in the wild by lead poisoning from the shot in carcasses on which they sometimes fed, biologists have said.

Since 1981, scientists have successfully hatched 13 condors in captivity from eggs taken in the wild.

They said they have been expecting the first egg laid in captivity since Wednesday, when they noticed UN1 was roosting in a nest box in the large, secluded enclosure.

The egg may not be viable, scientists cautioned, because the female is old and her mate, a young male designated AC4, may be sexually immature.

‘Double Clutch’ Sought

By taking the egg from its parents at an early point, scientists hope to induce the pair to “double-clutch,” or produce a second egg to replace the one they lost. Field biologists first noticed the behavior during the breeding seasons of 1983-1986, park officials said.

The incubator will maintain a constant temperature and humidity for the egg, and handlers will turn the egg 180 degrees twice a day, imitating the behavior of the mother’s care in the wild.

The last California condor living in the wild was captured and brought to the Wild Animal Park on April 3, 1987, by state and federal wildlife officials in a last bid to restore the vanishing species.

Biologists hope to breed sufficient numbers of the bird and release them into a safe environment in the wild.