LOS ANGELES : Female Condor Captured and Returned to Zoo

One of the first California condors introduced into the wild in early 1992 is back at the Los Angeles Zoo after being captured to protect her from bad habits.

Three-year-old Xewe had been sitting on power lines, a behavior that electrocuted two other members of the endangered species. A third died by hitting a power pole and a fourth by drinking antifreeze.

Xewe was captured Thursday in the Sespe Condor Sanctuary area in Ventura County and placed in quarantine for 30 days at the Los Angeles Zoo, officials said Monday. If she is found to be healthy, she will be moved into a zoo aviary with three other female condors that were recaptured. Five other condors were reported to be doing well in the remote Lion Canyon area of Santa Barbara County.