World CA Condor Update – 2020

Condor Enthusiasts -
Below is the population information on the California Condors, compiled by our partners at the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service as of December 31, 2020 (CA Condor population report). For more comprehensive information about condor recovery check out their webpage. For details about individual birds, check the most recent CA Condor Studbook from our partners at the San Diego Zoo. All information provided here is compiled by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service from the many CA Condor recovery partners (see the full list here).

TOTAL WORLD POPULATION = 504
Number of wild-fledged chicks = 10
Number of birds newly released into the wild from captivity = 28
Number of mortalities in the free-flying population = 42 (Note: the Dolan Wildfire contributed heavily to this)

TOTAL CAPTIVE POPULATION = 175
Captive Breeding is conducted at the Peregrine Fund’s World Center for Birds of Prey, Los Angeles Zoo, San Diego Zoo and Safari Park and Oregon Zoo in the U.S. and Chapultepec Zoo in Mexico City, Mexico.

Number of captive breeding pairs = 50
Number of captive hatched chicks = 28
Number of captive adult deaths = 1
Chicks held for release in 2021 = 25

WILD, FREE-FLYING POPULATION TOTAL = 329
Southern California, USA Meta-Population [est. 1995]:
Wild fledglings: 1 Releases: 4 Mortalities: 9 Total Size: 93
Hopper Mountain Refuge (U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service)
Condor Spotter - for information on individually tagged birds in U.S. wild populations

Southwest, USA Meta-Population [est. 1996]:
Wild fledglings: 3 Releases: 10 Mortalities: 7 Total Size: 103
National Park Service Condor Page
Grand Canyon National Park Condor Page and SW Updates (U.S. National Park Service)
Zion National Park Condor Page (U.S. National Park Service)
Glen Canyon National Recreation Area Condor Page (U.S. National Park Service)
The Peregrine Fund On Facebook as CondorCliffs
Condor Spotter - for information on individually tagged birds in U.S. wild populations

Central California, USA Meta-Population [est.1997]:
Wild fledglings: 5 Releases: 14 Mortalities: 25 Total Size: 93
National Park Service Condor Page
Pinnacles National Park Condor Profiles (U.S. National Park Service)
Ventana Wildlife Society Condor Page
Condor Spotter - for information on individually tagged birds in U.S. wild populations

Baja California, Mexico Meta-Population [est. 2002]:
Wild fledglings: 1 Releases: 0 Mortalities: 1 Total Size: 40
Parque Nacional Sierra de San Pedro Martir (Mexico National Park Service)
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service International Program

Pacific Northwest, USA Meta-Population:
The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, the Yurok Tribe, and Redwood National Park announce the plans to release a new metapopulation of condors as early as fall of 2021.

WILD BIRD MORTALITY NOTES:

• From 1992 through 2020 there have been 107 documented deaths from lead poisoning in the free flying population.

• Lead poisoning is responsible for 50 percent of the 213 condor deaths where a cause of death has been determined.

• An additional 106 free-flying condors have been presumed dead after missing for more than 365 days.

Prepared by Miranda Terwilliger, Wildlife Biologist, Division of Science and Resource Management, Grand Canyon National Park. Updated: April 2021