The park has participated in the program with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Los Angeles Zoo, and the Peregrine Fund since 1982, when the program began. Learn more about condor breeding. The huge scavenger is found in the Southwestern United States, where there's plenty of natural habitat. Last year, conservationists were dismayed to find the giant birds of prey were dropping dead in the wild from lead poisoning. The birds were apparently scavenging carcasses that contained lead shot.
Power lines are another danger to the recovering population.
The breeding program reached a real milestone with the latest hatching of a condor chick. The hatching process takes baby birds around 64 hours to complete. There are now more than 160 California Condors in zoos and in the wild. Within the next 20 years, scientists hope the population can top 400 birds, which would get the California condor off the endangered list. The recent discovery of the first egg laid in the wild by a condor born at the Wild Animal Park means the conservation program is coming full circle.