Condor 467

Hatched at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park on April 5, 2008, #467 started off just like any other newly released condor. He navigated through the Bitter Creek National Wildlife Refuge hillsides and was able to integrate into the Southern California flock.

As soon as he became of breeding age, everyone kept an eye out for any potential signs that he would pair with a female and go on to have a nest of his own, but he never showed signs that he was ready – that is until he turned nine.

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Flying without a GPS unit in 2017, #467 stayed under the radar and it wasn’t until the following spring, when the Condor Team was hiking into Hopper Canyon that it was apparent just how under the radar he was. During that hike, an untagged juvenile condor, clearly having hatched the year before, circled the team and landed in front of them. Additional observations and sleuthing, and later genetic confirmation, proved that this juvenile was the offspring of #467 and his mate, #567. They had raised and fledged a condor chick all on their own.

Fast-forward to 2024, #467 is now with a new female, #616, and he’s done it once again. Without any overt indications that he was nesting, a routine observation of a nearby nest revealed that he had indeed done it again – raised a chick successfully to fledge! While he had three other unsuccessful nesting attempts between 2019-2023, when he does raise a chick he doesn’t need any help to do it.