It's California condor breeding season, and five chicks have already hatched this year at the L.A. Zoo. Meet LA124! Coming in a little hot, this fiery fuzz ball is the first California condor to hatch this year. “This was the earliest that a California condor egg has ever been laid at the L.A. Zoo,” explains Animal Keeper Debbie S. “We weren’t expecting our first egg of the season for another week or two.” After LA124 hatched, keepers performed a quick wellness check on the chick while the adults were out of the nest box. They also removed some shell with blood and membrane for a DNA test to see if the chick is male or female. At the Zoo, California condor chicks are primarily raised by adult condor pairs with minimal human interaction. They're monitored via non-invasive remote cameras, allowing Animal Keeper Chandra D. to keep a close eye on LA124. "He's healthy, happy, and fashionably early to everything so far,” she quips.
Learn more about LA124, other new hatchlings, and the collaborative California Condor Recovery Program at: bit.ly/3UlANCN
Follow along as we highlight each chick hatched this year in our behind-the-scenes #LAZooCondorStories!
#CaliforniaCondor #Condor #ZooBabies
📹: Animal Keeper Mike C.