Haku (77)
Hatched April 21, 1992 at LA Zoo
Haku means "Hello" in the Chumash language. She was one of the first seven condors reintroduced into the wild as part of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Condor Recovery Program.
Haku hatched at the LA Zoo in April 1992 and in December she and five other six-month old birds were released the Los Padres National Forest in southern California. The young birds joined only one other condor that had been released, but they had no pre-existing flock, and began to exhibit behavioral problems.
Haku was captured in November 1993, released nearby in December, and captured again in March 1994. She would spend the next 22 year as part of the captive breeding program. At the Peregrine Fund's World Center for Birds of Prey, she mated with Siwon (Condor 85). Together they hatched 9 chicks: condors 372, 391, 415, 452, 485, 588, 626, 662, and 707.
In February 2017, Haku was released back into the wild in Southern California at Bitter Creek National Wildlife Refuge. She has since mated with condor 480 and had 2 chicks with him. Unfortunately, in 2022 her first wild chick died before fledging, but she and 480 tried again in 2023 and we have our fingers crossed wishing them the best.
