This condor couple may have laid the first egg in Northern California in a century

A California concert known as Ney-gem’ ‘Ne-chweenkah’ – Yurok for “You carry our prayers” – was flying somewhere deep in Redwood National Park, near the Klamath.

Then another one goes – called ‘Hlow Hoo-let’, or “At last I (or we) fly!” – he has been coming.

Yurok wildlife officials say the behavior suggests the pair are caring for an egg on the nation’s Northern California land, where they haven’t lived for more than a century.

“This is a big step, and a necessary step, to see recovery on the North Coast,” said Yurok Wildlife Department Director Tiana Williams-Claussen.

Condors disappeared from the state’s North Coast after the arrival of European settlers, who killed some of the animals with lead bullets and strychnine – poisoning the raptors that ate the dead meat. Others shoot bald eagles, which have wingspans of up to 9½ feet and can live more than 50 years.

It was not just a regional problem. In 1982, there were only 22 condors left in the world. Five years later, all remaining wild condors were captured and put into captivity to try to prevent extinction.

The pair, believed to be native to Yurok, were born and released in 2022, as part of the first group to be re-established in that region.

Condors are usually released when they are 1½ to 2½ years old, and usually do not start breeding until they are 6 years old.

The pair, officially known as A1 and A0, are the oldest birds in their release group at around 7 years old – and the only ones old enough to breed.

According to wildlife officials, the couple may have laid eggs in early February, based on their activity tracked by GPS devices attached to them.

The egg cannot be seen or confirmed because the nest is thought to be too far away.

It was placed in an old redwood tree behind the park, in Humboldt County, where there are no roads and the creek presents an impassable barrier, Williams-Claussen said.

Condors are usually nesting every year, and lay one egg at a time. The parents take turns incubating the egg, which is very sensitive to temperature. Even short term hypothermia can lead to death.

Early April is the fastest a blue, 10-ounce egg can hatch.

Hopes are high but fierce; usually the first egg of a condor couple does not hatch because they are still looking for a maintenance process.

If the condors stop coming to the nest, it will suggest that it has failed.

Even if the egg hatches, it may take some time before scientists can confirm that a chick exists. It takes six or seven months for condors to fledge, or take their first flight from the nest.

More than two decades ago, the Yurok Tribe decided they wanted to return the condors to their ancestral lands in the Humboldt and Del Norte areas, according to William-Claussen.

In 2008, they received a grant from the US Fish and Wildlife Service to conduct a feasibility study, beginning a 14-year process before vultures once again graced the skies of the region.

“We see ourselves as people who renew the world, or people who fix the world, whose main goal is to keep the world balanced,” Williams-Claussen said. “Post-American communication …

The condor conforms to that behavior.

In Yurok creation stories, “it was the Condor who gave the song we sing” in what are known as world renewal ceremonies, he said. Condor also participates in carrying prayers for the renewal of the world around the world during the events.

Newly documented breeding behavior stories have excited conservationists outside of Yurok country.

Estelle Sandhaus, director of conservation and science at the Santa Barbara Zoo, called it a “sign of hope” for the population’s recovery in Northern California, which is part of its historic range.

The condor release program managed by Yurok is very new for the species and the birds are still very young, he said.

Releases in Southern California, Central California, Mexico and the Southwest have led to breeding in the past, but this would be the first time in Northern California.

“As a biologist, when you’re looking at species recovery, you’re looking at survival, you’re looking at adaptation to the landscape. [and] he is definitely looking to breed,” he said.

There are now more than 200 condors flying freely in the Golden State, including nearly 100 in Southern California.

However, the vultures are not out of the woods yet. Lead poisoning is a major threat, and many herds still rely on captive breeding.

“We have to reduce lead toxicity,” Sandaus said. “That’s the road to recovery.”