In the late 1970s and early 1980s, newspapers were remarkably concerned with the sex lives of California condors. Here’s the story.
Tag: Zoos
An early report of death due to microtrash
A significant threat to California condors today is “microtrash”, small bits of trash that condors find on the ground and eat. This post provides some current information about the microtrash problem and then notes a century-old case of microtrash causing the death of a condor.
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Publications of the zoo trade: 1974 & 1986
A number of professional journals serve the managers, keepers, scientists, and others who work in the world’s zoos. In this post, I note items about the California condor from 2 of these “trade” publications.
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Zoo guides: 1879, 1911 & 1923
Zoos have long offered guides to their resident animals. My library now includes 3 early guides to zoos that once counted the California condor among their residents. Here is a look.
Early attempts at captive breeding
We now know that California condors can be bred in captivity. But humans gained this knowledge only in 1988 with the hatching of Molloko at the San Diego Wild Animal Park. This chick was the first California condor to be hatched from an egg produced by 2 captive parents.
Years of research had preceded Molloko’s hatching. But long before this successful research program began, there was an unsuccessful effort to breed California condors at the National Zoo in Washington DC.
Pseudogryps 