California Condor #470 aka "Fuego" (Spanish for "fire")

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Hatchday: April 12th, 2008 Hatch location Big Sur Sex: Male Current Status: unpaired Offspring: none, he is too young to breed Current location: Big Sur, CA

When he was still in the egg, Fuego was transferred from his birthplace at the Los Angeles Zoo to a wild Big Sur nest in a portable incubator. Hatching occurred without problems, but he was rather small for his age and did not seem to grow quickly until he reached 3 months old. At around 4 months of age, Fuego began climbing out of his cave nest and clumsily exploring the "front porch" of his cave. His confidence gradually grew until he started flying short distances from one boulder to another.

In June, 2008 the gigantic Basin Complex fire swallowed the canyon where he lived and approached his nest cliff quite closely, but never got close enough to harm him. Months later, a helicopter collided with a nearby powerline and caused another fire in the general vicinity of the nest. After Fuego survived two separate wildfires in his nest area it was easy to pick his nickname! His plucky spirit and great flying skills are a wonderful addition to the Big Sur flock.

Wild Population

Field Notes

Timeline

Geography