Condor Lays Egg; Hopes Rise for a Return to the Wild

The future of the near-extinct California condors became brighter Saturday when one of the captive females at the Los Angeles Zoo laid an egg, giving rise to hopes that these giant vultures may return to the wild soon.

There are no condors left in the wild, and only 40 living in captivity in zoos here and in San Diego, said Michael Wallace, curator of birds at the Los Angeles Zoo. These captive birds are being used in a closely supervised and controlled recovery program.

Condors have wingspans of more than 100 inches. Habitat destruction, gunshot and feeding on poisoned coyotes and rodents caused the birds’ demise in the wild, experts said.

This year, for the first time, the program managers are saying they may be able to rear enough baby condors to begin to release some into the wild by year’s end. That, of course, depends on how many survive the hatch, Wallace said.

Thus far in the recovery program, breeding pairs of condors have produced 13 offspring in three years, raising the known population from 27 to 40, he said.

The egg laid Saturday was significant because it came so early in the year and, with luck, the same pair of birds, named Anyapa and Kaweah, will lay two more before the year is out.

Condors normally lay one egg every two years, but by taking the egg away from the nest as soon as it is laid, keepers trick the birds into mating and producing another, and even a third.

The eggs are then hatched in incubators and reared by zoo experts. If this year’s hatch meets expectations, Wallace said, “It will be the first time ever that the California condors have been released back in the wild.”