A critically endangered California condor chick that will soon fly for the first time is seen at its nest site on a cliff above the drought-stricken Colorado River on August 31st, 2022, in Marble Canyon, Arizona. | Photo: Getty Images
Conservationists will be able to release more California condors into the wild thanks to a record number of chicks hatched at the Los Angeles Zoo this breeding season. It’s the latest success in an incredible conservation story for North America’s biggest flying bird.
A total of 17 chicks hatched at the zoo this season, which came to a close with the last little one arriving in June and “thriving.” That beats a 1997 record of 15 chicks in one season. The zoo credits the accomplishment to a new strategy it developed for minimizing the birds’ contact with humans.
“The result is more condor chicks in the program and ultimately more condors in the wild,” Rose Legato, curator of birds at the Los Angeles Zoo, said in a press release on…
