Our condor research hit an milestone at the end of July, 2007, when the colorful cohort of four young birds left their birthplace at the San Diego Zoo’s Wild Animal Park to begin a new adventure in Baja California, Mexico at Sierra San Pedro de Martír National Park. The birds traveled in crates to the facility there, where they were released into a flight pen where they will adapt to life in Baja for several months before their release to the wild sometime next year. It’s hard to believe that the goofy little youngsters we observed last November have grown so much, and that they will soon be soaring in the wild. (See Suzanne’s previous blog, Condors at the Crossroads.)

Research with these animals did not end when they were transferred to Baja. There are behaviorists observing them regularly in their flight pen, using the same ethogram and protocol we used throughout their time in San Diego. Birds that have been released in previous years are regularly followed and observed in the wild, and these newest birds will be similarly monitored once they fly free.

Our work in San Diego did not end when the cohort departed. We began monitoring the newest cohort of youngsters as they moved into the condor release pens at the Wild Animal Park in September. We added a new dimension to the project this year, following the birds closely as they were still in their nest boxes a few days prior to release to the flight pen. We want to see if their reactions when exposed to their new surroundings through a mesh door from the nest box would provide us with any clues as to their temperament. Assessing temperament early on might aid in predicting which birds will be successful when ultimately released to the wild and could help identify birds that may need special training or experiences to help them build the skills they need to survive.

We followed each of our new subjects, two males and two females, as they joined the cohort lorded over by Itaxme, the mentor bird. We watched their first week of activity once released as a group to the large flight pen they would call home over the next several months. It was fun to see the clumsy youngsters maneuver in their new pen, adjusting to life in a group.

And then the fires hit.

Though the staff was able to evacuate all condors to safety during the fires, there was some damage to the release pen area and another condor facility at the Wild Animal Park. As a result, “our” birds have not been able to return to the study area since the fires, and are instead being housed at a different condor facility for the time being. There is still some uncertainty as to the fate of our research at this time, since we need to sort out several details about study parameters and logistics before we can continue, and the birds themselves may not be housed permanently in their current location.

Ever heard the saying “Life is what happens when you are off making other plans?” As much as CRES and other researchers around the globe may produce quantities of valuable research with interesting conclusions and important applications, what most folks never hear about is the myriad ways that research can be thwarted, stymied, and mucked up by things outside of one’s control. In the long term, the condor project as a whole will continue to move forward reintroducing birds to native habitat in Baja and the U.S. In the short term, our research project with this cohort is at a standstill. But I have no doubt that it will renew, with this cohort or the next.

Suzanne Hall is the senior research laboratory technician for the Giant Panda Conservation Unit of Applied Animal Ecology/CRES.

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

Read a blog and see video of the fire’s impact on the condor facilities…

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