Second Condor Is Hatched in the Wild

A second California condor chick has hatched in Ventura County’s back country, further encouraging wildlife officials about the endangered bird’s recovery.

The egg hatched Saturday in the Sespe Condor Sanctuary, under observation of biologists who have been monitoring the nest for about two months. The sanctuary is in Los Padres National Forest, north of Fillmore.

“We could just make out a fuzzy white-gray patch next to the male that didn’t have the smooth roundness of an egg and we could tell the behavior of the male had changed,” said U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service biologist Mike Barth. “It’s an amazing process to witness this huge step toward the condors’ recovery.”

The chick’s parents--a 5-year-old female and an 8-year-old male--were raised at the Los Angeles Zoo and San Diego Wild Animal Park, then released into the wild as 1-year-olds.

In a nest three miles away, another condor pair are successfully brooding a 1-month-old chick, the first condor in 18 years to hatch from an egg laid in the wild, biologists said.

Officials expect a third chick to hatch in about three weeks.