A
critically endangered California Condor chick hatched at the Oregon Zoo on
April 11, but not without a little help.
Zookeepers
and veterinarians performed an emergency “assisted hatch,” helping the little
bird out of its egg and into the world. The chick had become stuck in the wrong
position for hatching, unable to move inside its shell, and would not have
survived much longer without the intervention.
Photo Credits: Michael Durham for Oregon Zoo
“We
only do this as a last resort,” said Kelli Walker, the zoo’s lead Condor
keeper. “It’s kind of the Condor equivalent to an emergency C-section. There
are so few of these birds in the world that each new chick is incredibly
important to the recovery of the species.”
The
egg, laid on February 14, had been placed in an incubator to keep it safe until the
hatch, while the Condor parents, Malibu and Maluk, sat on a dummy egg. Usually,
Walker waits for the chick to begin rotating in its shell, then returns the egg
to its nest to hatch beneath the parents. This egg, though, proved unusual.
On
April 7, monitoring the egg through a process called candling — using a bright
light source behind the egg to show details through the shell — Walker could
see that the chick was getting ready to hatch. At this point, keepers can
usually see a “pip,” or mark, inside the shell, where the chick has begun
chiseling its way out, but no internal pip was visible.
The
next day, Walker saw that the chick was turned 180 degrees from normal hatching
position. Because it was able to breathe and was still getting nutrition from the
egg, Walker waited to see if it would rotate properly, but two days later there
was still no change. The chick was stuck.
Growing
concerned, Walker contacted zoo veterinarian Mitch Finnegan. Realizing that the
chick would be unable to hatch alone, the two gently removed a portion of the
shell and the chick popped its head out.
After
a health checkup and a night spent in ICU, the chick was placed in the shell of
a nonfertile egg Walker had saved from the previous year, and swapped for the
dummy egg in the parents’ nest box.
“The
chick was extremely mad and vocal, which is good,” Walker said. “I think Maluk
must have heard it vocalizing, because he came into the nest area right away
and started brooding. The chick seems to be doing well and is very active.”
Read more below the fold:
The
assisted hatch is the zoo’s first successful Condor hatch of 2013. More than 30
healthy chicks have hatched at the Jonsson Center since the program began in
2003, and 23 Oregon Zoo-reared birds have gone out to field pens, with most
released to the wild. In addition, several eggs laid by Oregon Zoo Condors have
been placed in wild nests to hatch.
Condors
are the largest land birds in North America with wingspans of up to 10 feet and
an average weight of 18 to 25 pounds. They are highly intelligent and
inquisitive, and they require a tremendous amount of parental investment in the
wild. Although it was one of the original animals included in the 1973 Endangered
Species Act, by 1982 there were only 22 California Condors in existence, all of
which were taken into captivity to prevent the birds from dying out.
As
a scavenger that feeds off animal carcasses, the Condor is an important player
in nature’s cleanup crew. Other endangered species also are benefitting from
the conservation of California Condors because large areas of land have been
protected as Condor habitat.
Accumulated
lead poisoning — a problem that plagues all raptors and scavengers — is the
most severe obstacle to the California Condor’s recovery as a species. As the
birds feed on carrion and other animal carcasses, they can unintentionally
ingest lead from bullet fragments. Lead consumption causes paralysis of the
digestive tract and results in a slow death by starvation. Lead also causes severe
neurological problems, so the birds not only starve but suffer from impaired
motor functions.
The
last Condor seen in Oregon was near the town of Drain in 1904. The birds held
out a little longer in California, but by 1987, the last Condors were taken
into captivity in an attempt to save the species. Biologists decided to place
the remaining Condors in a captive-breeding program.
A
new California Condor habitat will open at the Oregon Zoo early next year,
allowing visitors to get a look at nonreleasable Condors and learn more about
these iconic birds.
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