SESPE CONDOR SANCTUARY : 6 Chicks Will Be Released in the Wild

The six California condor chicks airlifted to an enclosure in the Ventura County backcountry last month will be released to fly free in the wild on Dec. 1, officials at the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service said Tuesday.

The six chicks, which range in age from 6 to 8 months and sport 9-foot wingspans, will join Xewe (pronounced GAY-wee), the only one of the endangered species now in the wild.

The six have been held in a cave-like enclosure high in the Sespe Condor Sanctuary about 20 miles north of Fillmore since they were flown in from the Los Angeles Zoo on Oct. 19.

Fish & Wildlife authorities waited to settle on an exact release date until assessing the large vultures’ physical development, adaptation to their environment and behavior, said Robert Mesta, coordinator of the California Condor Recovery Program. The release had been projected for December or January.

“It’s become very obvious in the last couple of weeks that they are ready to go,” Mesta said. “They are better off out in the wild flying free.”

Once released, the chicks will probably mimic the behavior of 18-month-old Xewe. The offspring of the last remaining wild California condor, captured in 1987, Xewe was released last January with another chick, Chocuyens (Cho-KOO-yenz), which died Oct. 8 after drinking antifreeze.

“The other birds will latch onto Xewe and do everything she does,” Mesta said. Xewe has already formed a bond with the chicks, coming to their compound and sticking her long neck through the fence to preen and be preened.

“We’re just happy that, despite the fact that we lost Chocuyens, we will still have one good guide bird for the chicks,” Mesta said.