Near-Extinct Bird Finds a Home Here for the First Time in Over a Hundred Years

Hopeful news for one of the rarest birds in the world: four critically endangered condors have just been released in the redwood forests of Northern California, United States, as the first habitants of their kind in over a century. 

The California condor is North America’s largest flying land bird, yet, largely due to habitat loss and hunting, the population fell to just 22 individuals in the 1980s. Ultimately, the birds were declared extinct in the wild when the final few were captured for captive breeding. As of December 2021, following decades of controlled breeding programs, the total population of condors in California rose to 537. 

“For countless generations, the Yurok people have upheld a sacred responsibility to maintain balance in the natural world. Condor reintroduction is a real-life manifestation of our cultural commitment to restore and protect the planet for future generations,” says Joseph L. James, chairman of the Yurok Tribe, who released the one young female and three male condors following a decade of preparations. 

The condor comeback story is an important one. The bird is considered both culturally and ecologically important due to their ability to tear into the skin of larger dead animals, such as sea lions, that other smaller animals cannot. The condors thus begin the decomposition process, allowing smaller animals to feed on the remains. The condor population is expected to continue to rise following the recent release of the four birds into the wild.