Condor 1178

Hatched May 11, 2021 in the wild in Southern CA

Condors are constantly surprising us with their amazing abilities to survive and 1178 is a condor that truly embodies that.

In the spring of 2022, during a biannual trapping event at Bitter Creek National Wildlife Refuge, condor biologists were surprised to see a juvenile condor arrive at the fight pen with no tag. What was more surprising is that the juvenile, which appeared to be between one and two years old, was being attended by condor 20.

In normal circumstances, the juvenile's identity would have been easy to guess since condor 20 was known to have nested the prior year, but what was so surprising is that everyone was convinced that his nest had failed in 2021.

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Why did everyone think his nest had failed? During the early part of his nest, when it was still in egg stage, his mate, condor 654, tragically died. The intensive effort and amount of time required to incubate an egg and brood and raise a chick were more than what a single parent was thought to have been able to take on by himself.

During that time, condor 20's tracking devices also stopped working so there was no way to remotely track his nest in the rugged Santa Barbara backcountry. Written off as a failed nest, biologists were shocked to see condor 20 show up the following year with a juvenile at his side.

The mystery bird was finally trapped and DNA confirmed that it was indeed condor 1178 - the biological offspring of 20 and 654. With an amazing dad like 20, it's no surprise that 1178 showed the resiliency to fledge under his dedication. Hopefully 1178 will continue in his dad's "wing-prints" and be another amazing father when it's his time to have his own nest.