As a panda researcher, I have tended to specialize in the study of creatures that happen to be black and white. Perhaps it is fitting that when an opportunity arose to study animals far removed from the bear family, the study subjects would, again, be black and white.

The California condor has been one of the most endangered birds in the world. In 1982, only 26 individuals existed. Since that time, researchers from CRES, along with a variety of organizations including the Los Angeles Zoo, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and The Peregrine Fund, have been contributing to the growth of the condor population as well as to the release of individuals to the wild. At this writing, there are at least 280 individual condors in the wild or in managed care facilities in the U.S. and Mexico. The involvement of CRES in the rescue of this species from the brink of extinction is echoed in our organization's logo (see above).

The California condor is a very large member of the vulture family Cathartidae. How large? I myself was quite surprised when I got up close with one for the first time"¦ these birds are REALLY big! The typical adult stands as high as mid-thigh level on me, and I am pretty tall myself. The wingspan is amazing too: fully stretched out, the wings reach about nine to 10 feet (2.7 to 3 meters) from tip to tip. The adults have colorful patches on their bare head and throat, showing shades of pink, blue, and yellow. These are truly impressive looking birds.

I am working with other researchers to study the behavior of captive young condors that are destined for release into the wild. We are hoping to determine any social or temperamental factors that might help us to predict which individual birds are going to be successful in their native habitat, and which might fail in adapting to life on their own. Successful releases are a critical part of the management of this highly endangered species.

As a resident of California, I am excited to be working with a species that would naturally be seen in the wild places of my home state. Historically, the condor range extended from British Columbia to Baja, and from the Pacific Coast to east Texas and Mexico along the southern U.S. border. This bird belongs to the West Coast of our continent, and I am happy to participate in some small way in bringing it back to its native lands. If you live near Hopper Mountain in Ventura, California, or near Big Sur, or by the Grand Canyon, or even in Baja California, Mexico, look to the skies to see if you can spot one of these special birds in flight. We hope that as we continue our efforts to support their population growth, the likelihood of spotting one becomes even higher!

Suzanne Hall is a senior research laboratory technician for Giant Panda Conservation Unit, Applied Animal Ecology Division/CRES.

Here's more information about the California Condor Recovery Program.

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