Condor chick confirmed at Zion National Park in Utah

JULY 11, 2019

by Lindsay Whitehurst

A sweeping red-rock cliff at Utah's Zion National Park is now the home of a new California condor chick as the species makes a comeback in the wild three decades after they were on the brink of extinction, biologists have confirmed.

The chick is believed to have hatched in early May on the cliffs just north of Angels Landing, park rangers said. If it survives to flying age in November, it will be the first chick to fledge at the park.

"We're hoping it does fledge, it takes off out of the nest and successfully flies off," said Eugenne Moisa with Zion National Park on Wednesday.

Birds raised in captivity were first released at Vermilion Cliffs near the Arizona-Utah line in 1996, and now more than 88 flying in the two states.

The new chick's parents are the only identified breeding pair in Zion, and are estimated to have been together two years. The female was born in 2006 at the San Diego Zoo and the male hatched in 2009 in Boise, Idaho, before being released into the wild.

Continued 

Endangered condor may have hatched in Zion National Park

JUNE 1, 2019

There's likely a new baby condor at Zion National Park in southwest Utah.

Park rangers said Thursday that they suspect a pair of endangered California condors has hatched their first egg because of behavior changes between the birds.

They estimate the chick to be about 3 weeks old.

If the chick survives, it would be Utah's first successful hatchling. Zion spokeswoman Aly Baltrus says three chicks have been born at the park but have died before they were old enough to fly.

National Park Service records show the condors were the only breeding pair in Zion as of last year. Park rangers estimate they've been together for two years.

California condors are making a comeback in the wild three decades after nearing the brink of extinction.

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