More About Santa Barbara's Condors

By Julia McHugh

 

Santa Barbara Zoo staff went above and beyond the call of duty to obtain the residents of the zoo’s new Condor Country exhibit. The highly endangered birds, with wingspans of more than nine feet are too large to fit on an airplane. So, four zoo team members including CEO Rich Block drove nearly 900 miles from a captive breeding facility in Boise Idaho, braving rain, snow and dark of night to transport the big birds. The crew and condors arrived at the zoo at 1 a.m. the morning of March 6. The four birds then spent 30 days in quarantine in Condor Country part of the new $7.5 million California Trails complex which opened on April 22, Earth Day.

“It was emotionally moving to go to the World Center and see the condors,” said Block. “They [The Peregrine Fund’s World Center for Birds of Prey] have 18 breeding pairs and a ton of young birds—nearly 60 condors total. Of the effort to bring the condors to Santa Barbara he said, “This is the result of discussions that started ten years ago. We’ve built relationships and created a remarkable program. We are making a difference.”

California Condors are highly endangered birds. The four Santa Barbara residents are listed in the Condor Recovery Program Studbook by number: 432 (male), 433(female), 439 (male), and 440 (female.) They were all born at The World Center for Birds of Prey within a two-week period in April 2007. Three were raised by their parents. Condor foster parents raised number 433.

 

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All but number 440 are descended from a famous condor named AC3, a wild California condor who succumbed to lead poisoning in 1986. Her death drew attention to the significant decline of the native population in the Golden State and her remains are currently displayed at the Museum of Natural History. AC3 is the great-grand dam of the Santa Barbara Zoo newcomers.

 

The zoo’s Director of Conservation Estelle Sandhaus said that condors are “playful and rowdy” at this age. The condors won’t display the distinctive red coloration on their faces until they mature in approximately four to six years.  There are no plans for breeding condors at the zoo. Nor will the birds be returned to the wild.

 

“These birds will have more of an affiliation with people, so unless things change significantly in the program, these birds will not be released into the wild,” said Alan Varsik, assistant zoo director. “They will most likely go into breeding situations, [and be] moved to one of the breeding facilities at some point before they mature and try to pair up, which is two or three years down the line.”

 

For now, the condors are on view in a spacious hilltop aviary overlook their historic range—the Santa Ynez Mountains. With this exhibit, the Santa Barbara Zoo becomes one of just three zoos to display the endangered birds. The others are in Mexico City and San Diego. For more information visit santabarbarazoo.org.