Latest news with #MishaBody
Los Angeles Times
2 days ago
- Science
- Los Angeles Times
California condors are critically endangered, but the Los Angeles Zoo just hatched 10 healthy chicks
Earlier this month, wildlife enthusiasts were excited over a pair of young bald eagles that flew out of their nest for the first time, hovering high above Big Bear Lake. This week, the focus is on 10 condor chicks that were hatched at the Los Angeles Zoo, making them eligible to be released into the wild to help restore the state's depleted condor population. 'This year's chicks will eventually help increase the genetic diversity of the wild population of condors,' Denise Verret, chief executive and director of the Los Angeles Zoo, said in a news release. 'This iconic species represents a conservation win for Los Angeles and for California.' Four of the chicks are being raised under a double-brooding method, which means two chicks are being raised at the same time by two surrogate California condors, according to the release. The Los Angeles Zoo was the first zoo to use this breeding technique. 'The L.A. Zoo's leadership in breeding California condors clearly demonstrates the marriage between conservation and animal husbandry,' Misha Body, deputy director of animal programs for the Los Angeles Zoo, said in the release. 'The care and well being that our animal care team provides continues to be innovative and advances the success of the condor program every year.' All of the chicks bred at the zoo are eligible to be released into the wild as part of the zoo's California Condor Recovery Program, although some of them may be held back for future breeding, the release states. Condors are under threat from lead poisonings and other toxins. According to a 2022 study, there were 40 DDT-related compounds — or chemicals that had made their way to the top of the food chain from contaminated marine life — found in the blood of wild California condors. There were only 22 California condors left on Earth when the California Condor Recovery Program started four decades ago. As of 2024, there were 561 condors, with 344 living in the wild. The species remains critically endangered.
CBS News
2 days ago
- General
- CBS News
LA Zoo welcomes 10 condor chicks, increasing California condor wild population
Moving towards an "ultimate goal of recovery" in California's condor population, the LA Zoo announced that 10 healthy chicks hatched during the zoo's 2025 California condor breeding season. All of the chicks will be candidates for release into the wild as part of the California Condor Recovery Program, under the leadership of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. One of the California condor chicks that hatched at the LA Zoo. Jamie Pham "The L.A. Zoo is dedicated to helping our partners increase the California condor's wild population to not only save them from extinction, but to also continue the hard work towards the ultimate goal of recovery," said Misha Body, Deputy Director of Animal Programs, Los Angeles Zoo. With a wingspan of nearly 10 feet, the California condor is one of the largest flying birds in North America. According to Fish and Wildlife, the bird has been protected as an endangered species by federal law since 1967 and by California state law since 1971. In the 1970s, only a few dozen condors remained in the wild. In the mid-1980s, all of the remaining condors were captured and taken to zoos to stop their population decline in the wild. Four of the chicks at the LA Zoo are being raised under a double brooding method, with two chicks being reared at one time by a pair of surrogate California condors. The zoo pioneered this breeding technique in 2017. "The care and well-being that our animal care team provides continues to be innovative and advances the success of the condor program every year," Body said. California condor eggs at the Los Angeles Zoo. JAMIE PHAM California condors are not on exhibit at the zoo, but guests can participate in California Condor Talk, held daily.
