Condor Hopes Hatched as Chick Pecks Hole in Shell

A tiny California condor chick that scientists say represents the salvation of its species pecked a hole in its eggshell today, sparking a 72-hour watch to make sure it hatches in good health, officials said.

Keepers at San Diego Wild Animal Park are keeping a round-the-clock vigil over the egg, the first produced by captive California condors under a program started 15 years ago to save the nearly extinct species, spokesman Tom Hanscom said. Only 27 condors are known to exist today.

The chick began using its lungs for the first time Sunday when it pushed its beak into an air pocket at the egg’s narrow end, and should win its struggle to break out of the blue-green shell within the next three days, Hanscom said.

If the chick fails to hatch itself by Saturday morning, keepers and veterinarians will step in and help the baby bird get out, he said. After it hatches, the bird will be hand-raised by keepers using a puppet resembling an adult condor to feed the chick.

The fertile egg, laid March 3, was the culmination of an elaborate courtship dance and mating of a young male designated AC4 and his older mate, UN1. The egg was removed from the park’s “condorminium” and placed in an incubator.