Condor Chick Gobbles Down Its First Meal

Molloko the condor was reported in fine health Saturday by keepers at the San Diego Wild Animal Park who anxiously monitored the newborn’s first few hours of life.

Park spokesman Tom Hanscom said the chick “voraciously” swallowed its first feeding of minced mice and egg yolk at 6 a.m. Saturday.

“We only offered about a tablespoon of food and it wanted more when it was done,” Hanscom said. “So we’re getting a real good feeding response, and the chick seems alert. All signs are that it’s doing real well.”

First Born in Captivity

The bird, the first California condor conceived and hatched in captivity, spends the majority of its time sleeping, Hanscom said.

In a few days, when the chick is able to hold its head up steady and take food without having its neck supported, keepers will begin feeding it with a hand puppet designed to resemble an adult condor, Hanscom said.

The sex of the chick, which was born at 5:38 p.m. Friday, has not yet been determined. Molloko is a Northern Maidu Indian word for condor.

Molloko’s parents are being kept in a nearby flight enclosure, but will not participate in the raising of their offspring, Hanscom said.

“At this point it would be very confusing for the parents to find themselves with a chick when they have not been sitting on an egg for the past two months,” he said. “Plus, we still hold out hopes that in the next couple of weeks they’ll pleasantly surprise us and lay a second egg.”