LOS ANGELES — Ten California condor chicks hatched successfully at the Los Angeles Zoo this breeding season, marking another milestone in the decades-long effort to save North America’s largest land bird from extinction.
All 10 chicks are candidates for release into the wild through the California Condor Recovery Program, zoo officials said.
“Our California condor care team continues to make strides in the recovery efforts of North America’s largest land bird,” Denise M. Verret, zoo director and CEO, said in a statement.
“This year’s chicks will eventually help increase the genetic diversity of the wild population of condors. This iconic species represents a conservation win for Los Angeles and for California.”
Zoo officials said four of the chicks are being raised through a method known as double brooding, which the L.A. Zoo pioneered in 2017. The technique involves using a surrogate condor pair to raise two chicks at once — a practice no other zoo had attempted at the time.
“The care and wellbeing that our animal care team provides continues to be innovative and advances the success of the condor program every year,” said Misha Body, deputy director of Animal Programs at the zoo. “The L.A. Zoo is dedicated to helping our partners increase the California condor’s wild population to not only save them from extinction, but to also continue the hard work towards the ultimate goal of recovery.”
Some chicks may be held back for future breeding, but all are considered candidates for eventual release, according to the zoo.
The California Condor Recovery Program is administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and partners across local, state and federal agencies; indigenous tribes; and non-government organizations. In 1981, the Los Angeles Zoo and San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance joined the recovery program as founding members and started the captive breeding program.
In addition to this year’s breeding season, Los Angeles Zoo Chief Veterinarian and Director of Animal Health & Wellness Dominique Keller, was one of 19 co-authors on a scientific research paper about the California condor avian influenza vaccine, submitted to the June 2025 edition of the Emerging Infections Diseases Journal of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In October 2023, the Los Angeles Zoo announced it was one of three partner facilities to participate in a vaccine trial after the avian influenza deaths of 21 free-flying condors in Arizona.
Though the condor chicks are not on exhibit, guests can see a non-releasable California condor named Hope in the Angela Collier World of Birds Show at noon daily, except Tuesdays.
A daily “California Condor Talk” is also held from 2 to 2:30 p.m. at the nearby picnic area.
For more information, visit lazoo.org.
