A Feathered Flock

The Santa Barbara Zoo’s condors are part of the recovery program and wear wing tags that identify them as individuals. The lower the number, the older the bird.

872

  • Male, hatched on April 20, 2017
  • Hatched at Peregrine Fund, World Center for Birds of Prey in Boise, ID
  • Transferred to SBZ during COVID-19 due to reduced field work
close of of California condor as bird looks to the right

984

  • Male, hatched on April 23, 2019
  • Hatched at Los Angeles Zoo

1152

  • Male, hatched on May 7, 2022
  • Arrived at SB Zoo in December 2023
  • Hatched at Los Angeles Zoo

1171

  • Female, hatched on May 25, 2022
  • Arrived at SB Zoo in December 2023
  • Hatched at Los Angeles Zoo

Zoolife Livestream Webcam

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Condor Nest Watch

The Santa Barbara Zoo helps monitor wild condors nesting near Hopper Mountain and Bitter Creek National Wildlife Refuges, located in Ventura and Kern counties, respectively. Volunteers and staff from the Zoo and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service observe condor nests as part of a long-term study to see if there are differences in parenting styles of wild-reared condors versus captive-reared condors, among other factors.

Conservation Status

In 1982, the world’s population of California condors dropped to just 22 individuals. By 1987, the few remaining wild condors had been captured for a captive breeding program. Today, there are more than 500 condors in the world, with more than half flying free in the wild. But there is still work to be done: the IUCN lists them as Critically Endangered.

Don’t Feed Wildlife!

Some animals are naturally curious, like California condors. But it is not a good idea to feed wildlife. If young and impressionable condors are fed by humans in the wild, they can associate people with food. That is a potentially harmful behavior, for condors and humans. It’s the same with raccoons, deer, and other wildlife you might encounter. Help keep wild animals wild…don’t feed wildlife.