A Rescue of Monumental Proportions

The scene: The red rocks of the Vermilion Cliffs, Grand Canyon, Arizona.

The situation: Condor 319, a female of breeding age entered her cliff nest and remained there for a few days. We know this because the endangered species are all fitted with tracking monitors, and the telemetry documented her activities along with all her fellow precious California condors at the Grand Canyon. This stationary behavior in the spring indicated that she might well be sitting on an egg! Two days later, she left the nest and telemetry indicated she was acting strangely. She was possibly another victim of the Highly Pathogenic Avian Flu that was decimating others of the Southwest flock of endangered California condors.

(Here the GPS tracking monitor is affixed to the shoulder of a condor.)

The solution: She was captured and sent, very ill, to our rehabilitation facility where 8 days later she sadly succumbed to the HPAI infection. Her mate, condor #680, was not leaving the cave, and it was assumed that she had laid an egg in the time she was in the cave. Now, when she did not return, he was valiantly trying to incubate it by himself.

Biologists monitoring the situation believed that not only was it dangerous for him to remain in the dank, dark, cool cave (a mecca for the avian flu virus), but it would be impossible for him to incubate and feed himself sufficiently to stay alive. And his instinct to care for the egg would likely push him to risk his own life. To avoid the potential loss of a second known breeder, it was decided to take the egg when the male left for a quick trip to hopefully find food.

The “rescue” was the only solution to a very bad situation. The egg was then mindfully removed from the cave, careful not to disturb a growing chick if the egg turned out to be viable. From the canyon rim, the egg was transferred to Flagstaff where a Liberty Wildlife volunteer, armed with a warmed brooder, would transfer the egg back to the Liberty Wildlife hospital in Phoenix.

Upon arrival, a quiet room away from the busy traffic in the hospital was set up with the necessities to hopefully hatch an egg. It was kept at a consistent temperature relative to the stage of development. The humidity was constantly monitored, and it was systematically turned as a mother would do while incubating. And weekly our team “candled” the egg to reveal a growing chick.

Now deemed viable, we waited for pipping to begin. A chick in an egg lives off the yolk attached by three umbilical cords, and she breaths the air from the air sack. It all makes sense when you think about it. When the food and air become exhausted by the growing chick it starts the unbelievable journey of pecking its way out. But our baby was not situated normally… sometimes it happens, just like when a human baby is born breach… but with the advice of experts at the LA Zoo propagation department, and our skilled team of veterinarians, Dr. Lamb and Dr. Goe, the happy day came and the chick was free.

I don’t want to make this sound easy. It wasn’t. It was a challenge for the chick, and a nerve-wracking experience as we all collectively held our breath, too. But it happened and the little chick became free to fill its lungs with new and plentiful air while we all breathed a sigh of relief.

(The fledgling condor spent her first week of life in the care of the team at Liberty Wildlife.)

Welcome to the world little girl. And yes, tests showed that she was free of any signs of avian flu and later tests indicated that we indeed had a girl. What a blessing that she will replace her mom if all goes well.

(The care team at Liberty Wildlife took normal precautions to avoid imprinting the little hatchling, while carefully monitoring her health and regular feeding.)

This is special for so many reasons…11 of the condors who were struck down by the flu were breeding age females. Condors don’t start to breed until they are 6 to 8 years-old and they only lay an egg every other year. So, to replace those lost from the HPAI virus is a process that will take time…a lot of time, and for a species in danger that is not a good thing. So, rescuing this egg and successfully hatching it was a major accomplishment, and a moment of hope in a difficult year.

Now, the next phase has started. She was flown (under the supervision of Liberty Wildlife lead veterinarian Stephanie Lamb) on a small private plane to the Peregrine Fund’s propagation facility in Boise, where she was introduced to her new adoptive condor parents and was immediately accepted as one of their own. Birds have a way of doing that if they are known breeders…like I have said before…they are hard wired in most cases to do the “right thing by this little helpless baby.”

The hopeful outcome: She will experience all the milestones that she would have, had she not been orphaned. It is our greatest hope that she successfully reaches the ultimate stage and is released back into the skies near the Grand Canyon that she was meant to inhabit… and that she later will find a suitable mate and will contribute to the continuation of this grand species. That is our hope for her and for all of us.

This was a rescue, necessitated by no fault of her own or her parents. This was a rescue that has ended up stoking the growth of hope in an otherwise dismal year for her species…hope for a long and productive life….hope for the future of California condors.

(California condors at the Grand Canyon. Photo from Grand Canyon Visitor Center.)