Four Condors Get Shipped Out of Oregon Zoo and Five New Ones Arrive

By Bill LaMarche 

Portland, OR - Oregon Zoo staff transported four California condors to the Peregrine Fund's World Center for Birds of Prey in Boise, Idaho, and returned with five additional birds, which will integrate into its successful condor breeding program.

Females Yak'Mo (No. 496), Ewauna (No. 481) and Kalak-ala (No. 487), and male Atfa'lat'i (No. 479) were hatched and raised at the Oregon Zoo before being transferred to the Peregrine Fund, where they are preparing to soar into the open skies.

Today, condors survive in three highly managed populations: one in Baja California, Mexico; one in Arizona near the Grand Canyon; and the other in the Southern California coastal range. Two of the females, Ewauna and Kalak-ala, will be released along the California coast, and the other, Yak'Mo, will be released in Arizona. Atfa'lat'i is destined for a Baja release.

"With every successful condor release we're another step closer to seeing condors fly over the skies of Oregon," said Shawn St. Michael, condor curator. "One day, Oregonians may again see what Lewis and Clark saw as they traveled along the Columbia River more than 200 years ago."

St. Michael and Oregon Zoo condor keeper Kelli Walker transported the birds to Boise and returned with five new condors, which will be housed at the zoo's Jonsson Center for Wildlife Conservation.

Two adult males, Alishaw (No. 90) and Maluk (No. 55), will be paired with hens at the facility, bringing the zoo's total number of breeding pairs up to 10. Alishaw will be paired with female No. 295, who currently lives with another hen at the facility. Maluk will likely be paired with a hen tentatively scheduled to arrive next year, but until then he will provide company and direction for three juvenile birds that were hatched last year.

Male No. 461, male No. 465 and female No. 464 will be housed with Maluk in a large pre-release pen until the zoo receives release recommendations for them.

"Given the very social nature of condors, and the slow maturation of juveniles, it's important to keep the youngsters with a mentor so they learn proper behavior," noted St. Michael. "If left to their own devices, as is common for human teenagers, they will get into all sorts of trouble."

Condors, the largest land birds in North America, have wingspans of up to 10 feet and weigh 18 to 30 pounds. They are highly intelligent and inquisitive, often engaging in play. Their range extended across much of North America during the Pleistocene Era, which ended about 10,000 years ago. By 1940, that range had been reduced to the coastal mountains of Southern California, and in 1967 condors were added to the first federal list of endangered species. In 1987, the last wild condor was brought into captivity and a captive-breeding program was developed. The world's total population of endangered condors flying free in the wild is 169 in Arizona, California and Mexico.

The Oregon Zoo's condor recovery efforts take place at the Jonsson Center for Wildlife Conservation, located in rural Clackamas County on Metro-owned open space. The remoteness of the facility minimizes the exposure of young condors to people, increasing the chances for captive-hatched birds to survive and breed in the wild.

The center is currently home to 38 condors and has produced 23 fertile eggs since it was established in 2004. Of the 23 eggs hatched in Oregon, 19 chicks have survived; two eggs were sent to other facilities for hatching.

In 2001, the Oregon Zoo became the third zoo in the nation to join the California Condor Recovery Program. California condor captive-breeding programs are also operated at San Diego Zoo's Wild Animal Park, the Los Angeles Zoo and the Peregrine Fund's World Center for Birds of Prey. The Oregon Zoo was the recipient of the Wildlife Society's Conservation Award for creating the nation's fourth California condor breeding facility in April 2005.

The zoo is a service of Metro and is dedicated to its mission to inspire the community to create a better future for wildlife. Committed to conservation, the zoo is currently working to save endangered California condors, Washington's pygmy rabbits, Oregon silverspot butterflies, western pond turtles, Oregon spotted frogs and Kincaid's lupine. Other projects include studies on black rhinos, Asian elephants, polar bears and bats.

The zoo opens at 8 a.m. daily and is located five minutes from downtown Portland, just off Highway 26. The zoo is also accessible by MAX light rail line. Zoo visitors are encouraged to ride MAX or take TriMet bus No. 63. Visitors who take the bus or MAX receive $1.50 off zoo admission. Call TriMet Customer Service, 503-238-RIDE (7433), or visit www.trimet.org for fare and route information.

General admission is $10.50 (12-64), seniors $9 (65+), children $7.50 (3-11), and infants 2 and under are free; 25 cents of the admission price helps fund regional conservation projects through the zoo's Future for Wildlife program. A parking fee of $2 per car is also required. Additional information is available at www.oregonzoo.org or by calling 503-226-1561.

Caption: The Oregon Zoo received five California condors from the Peregrine Fund in Boise, Idaho. Pictured are male No. 461, male No. 465 and female No. 464. They will be housed with Maluk in a large pre-release pen until the zoo receives release recommendations for them. Photos by Carli Davidson, courtesy of the Oregon Zoo.

Caption 2: The Oregon Zoo recently sent four California condors to the Peregrine Fund in Boise, Idaho. All four birds will be released into the wild sometime in the future. The zoo also received five condors from the Peregrine Fund, including Condor No. 465. Photo by Carli Davidson, courtesy of the Oregon Zoo.

Oregon Zoo " 4001 SW Canyon Rd. " Portland, Oregon 97221 " 503-226-1561

To view Oregon Zoo's web page on Zoo and Aquarium Visitor, go to: http://www.zandavisitor.com/forumtopicdetail-382-Oregon_Zoo