Three more condors will grace Northern California skies
The Yurok Tribe and Redwood National and State Parks will soon release three more prey-go-neesh (California condors) into Yurok ancestral territory, bringing the total number of these endangered scavengers in Northern California to eight.
All three birds, two females and one male, are healthy and behaving in a way that indicates they are ready for the wild, according to a tribe press release
Last year, thanks to the partnership between the park and the tribe, condors soared over Northern California skies for the first time in 100 years. This summer, condors from Pinnacles National Park also roamed to Mount Diablo for the first time in 100 years.
Condors are critically endangered and were extinct in the wild as recently as the 1980s. Several hundred birds now fly in California, Utah, and Arizona in the United States, as well was Baja California in Mexico, after captive breeding helped to recover their numbers. Lead bullets used by hunters are the condor’s greatest threat, and were only banned in California in 2019.
Condors are extremely social creatures, according to the tribe press release. The presence of additional prey-go-neesh will ensure the new birds are as calm as possible during their first steps into the natural world.
Upon release, Northern California Condor Restoration Program biologists expect the eight free-flying birds to assist the new group in getting acclimated to a new environment. As the new condors have waited in the release and management facility, acclimating to their new home, they have been regularly visited by free-flying birds, laying the groundwork for their integration into the population.
The birds’ release can be viewed live on the Yurok Condor Live Feed.