According to the zoo’s staff, both parents were watching over the egg, when suddenly Sisquoc, the father, pulled part of the egg off to the side. After some coaxing from Sisquoc, Shatash moved to reveal the bald baby condor sitting next to the egg.
Since, Shatash and Sisquoc have been taking turns keeping their baby warm, often hiding the chick from view. But fans can catch a glimpse of it when the parents switch off or when they go outside to feed. Stay tuned to see them nurture, groom, feed and play with their baby. In the next couple of weeks, the chick’s fluffy, white down will turn grey, and in about five to six months, it will start to fledge, or learn how to fly.
Males and females look very similar, so scientists won’t know whether their newest condor’s gender until they do genetic testing. Once the birds are old enough, scientists tag males so they can tell them apart from lady condors.
Usually baby condors born in captivity hatch in an incubator and are puppet reared (see video below) by staff, so “this is a truly unique opportunity to look at a species that almost went extinct,” the Safari Park’s bird curator Michael Mace said. “There are field biologists who have never seen this.”
Remember to submit your suggestion for condor baby names by March 15 via Twitter (#CondorName) or Facebook. The names must be in Chumash, a family of languages spoken by Chumash Native Americans, and have relevance to condors. The condor team will then pick their favorite entries, and fans will get to vote on the baby condor’s name later this month.
Watch how Safari Park staff rear baby California condors.
Video: 1) Safari Park senior keeper Ron Webb monitors Shatash and Sisquoq’s chick on Monday, two days after it hatched. 2) San Diego Zoo Safari Park.
Image: Ken Bohn/San Diego Zoo Safari Park.
