Some four decades ago, a mere 22 California condors existed in the world. Cut to 2024, and the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance welcomed its 250th California condor hatchling at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park.
It is a feat that does not cease to amaze wildlife enthusiasts. Xol-Xol, a California condor that was brought into human care under the California Condor Recovery Program in 1982, deserves a fair bit of the credit for the programme’s success. From 1993 till date, Xol-Xol (pronounced hole-hole) has fathered 41 of the 250 chicks born at the San Diego facility. The new hatchling, named Emaay (pronounced eh-my), was born on March 16. Its mother is Mexwe (pronounced mex-weh).
Before the egg that was to bear Emaay hatched, it had to be placed in an incubator that was closely monitored by the wildlife care team. Due to a suspected malposition, the egg was taken to Paul Harter Veterinary Medical Center for computed tomography, or CT, imaging. After examining the results, the chick’s position was determined to be not of concern.
The chick successfully pipped and was returned to Xol-Xol and Mexwe for hatching. The pair’s nest is equipped with infrared cameras, allowing the team to monitor the hatching process round the clock. Emaay’s sex is yet to be determined. Emaay is the word for sky in Kumeyaay, the Native American language spoken by the Kumeyaay people of southern San Diego and Imperial counties in California as well as five Kumiai communities in Baja California Norte, Mexico. Xol-Xol means “one of the sky people” in the language of the Chumash, a Native American people of the central and southern coastal regions of California, in portions of what is now Kern, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Ventura and Los Angeles counties.
The thousandth chick to hatch since the recovery programme was launched was born in Utah’s Zion National Park in 2019, a report in The Smithsonian magazine said.
Nora Willis, senior wildlife care specialist, San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, said, “Reaching this milestone [of 250 chicks] feels incredible. Seeing the success that the San Diego Zoo Safari Park has had—and the success of the California Condor Recovery Program as a whole—is really inspiring.”
She added, “There is still a long way to go, but being part of this and helping the species recover is life-changing.”
Xol-Xol was one of the 22 condors remaining in 1982. When he was rescued from the Sespe Condor Sanctuary after being neglected by his parents, who were still rearing a chick from the previous year, he was just three months old. He became the very first California condor cared for by humans at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park under the recovery programme. Many of the chicks fathered by him have been reintroduced into their native habitat. If all goes well, the latest addition to his family, too, will join the native population next year.
The California condor is North America’s largest bird, a powerful though not conventionally beautiful creature that feasts on carrion and can soar to heights of 15,000 feet, or over 4.5 km. Their population was decimated by a slew of human-related factors: lead poisoning, habitat destruction, pollution, and hunting, according to the report in The Smithsonian.
