OREGON ZOO . PORTLAND, OREGON . WWW.OREGONZOO.ORG
Welcome to the Oregon Zoo's Condor Recovery Program
|
|
|
|
|
|
California Condors Timeline
Prehistory
A healthy population of California condors ranged throughout the coastal regions of North America from British Columbia to Baja California, east to Florida and north to New York. 1602 First recorded sighting of a California Condor by a European, Father Antonio de la Ascension, in Monterey Bay, California. The condor served as a deity figure in Native American cultures. 1805 On October 28, Lewis and Clark reported a sighting of a condor, referring to it as a "Vulture of the Columbia", near the junction of the Wind River and the Columbia River in present-day Washington State. The next day, they shot one for a closer look. 1806 On February 16, members of the Lewis and Clark Expedition brought the leaders a live condor whereupon they performed an extensive visual examination of the bird. 1827 A large group of California condors was seen near Fort Vancouver feasting upon the carcasses of horses killed in a storm. 1904 The last reliable sighting of a California condor occurred in Drain, Oregon. 1939 National Audubon Society researcher Carl B. Koford began intensive field studies of the California Condor providing some of the first authoritative information about the species He estimated 60 to 100 condors remained in the wild. 1967 The California condor is included in the first Federal list of U.S. Endangered Species. 1975 California Condor Recovery Team established and the recovery plan adopted. 1979 U.S. Congress approved first special designation to expedite California Condor Recovery Plan. Field survey program launched. 1982 Only 21 birds remained in the wild. 1987 The 17 remaining free-flying condors were taken into captivity. 1988 First successful breeding among California Condors occurred at the San Diego Zoo. 1992 Two California Condors were reintroduced into the wild accompanied by two Andean condors. 1996 On June 15, the 100th chick born in captivity hatched at the L.A. Zoo. 1999 Several older birds observed feeding on a sea lion carcass in an isolated cove along the Big Sur coastline. This was the first documentation of condors foraging on marine mammals along the Big Sur coast in more than 100 years. 2001 Population of condors is now at 183. Oregon Zoo joins the California Condor Recovery Program as the fourth captive breeding partner.