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Victor Maccharoli- President of the Santa Barbara Zoo Board of Directors gave a speech Wednesday before cutting a 50' red ribbon to officially open the California Condor exhibit which is part of the new California Trails.

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Condors stretch their wings at SB Zoo

By ERIC LINDBERG - April 23, 2009

Perched atop a wooden “snag” with a stunning backdrop of the Santa Ynez Mountains, four young California condors stretched their wings and jostled over the best roosting spots as a crowd of community leaders, zoo officials and curious onlookers celebrated the opening of the Santa Barbara Zoo’s new California Trails exhibit.

While the $7.5 million complex features other regional species such as the Channel Island fox, desert tortoise and bald eagle, the four juvenile condors are undoubtedly the stars of the show.

“People don’t really have an appreciation for these birds until they see them in person,” said Alan Varsik, the zoo’s assistant director who oversees animal programs. “They are so social, they are so dynamic.”

With wingspans as large as 9 and a half feet, the condors drew murmurs and furtive whispers from onlookers as they stretched their feathers in the sun, forcing zoo officials to battle for the crowd’s attention yesterday while describing the features of the new exhibit.

“I don’t think any other species has this much charisma,” said Jesse Grantham, who coordinates the California Condor Recovery Program for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

That charisma was almost lost for good in the mid-80s, however, when condor populations dwindled down to just 22 birds in the wild and one in captivity.

As recovery breeding programs popped up, population figures slowly started to climb again. Today, there are approximately 325 California condors worldwide, including 86 flying free in California, Grantham said.

“We’re not going to lose the condor; they aren’t going to go extinct,” he said, before cautioning, “But we’re not out of the woods yet.”

Zoo officials and wildlife workers will need to continue nurturing the population back to healthy levels, he said, while dealing with problems such as lead poisoning and illegal hunting.

The Santa Barbara Zoo will play a huge role in the conservation effort with its new exhibit — one of only three zoo exhibits worldwide to feature the condor — through education and awareness of the challenges facing the species.

“It really helps to tell the story of all our field work,” Zoo CEO Rich Block said. “We can share what we are accomplishing in our conservation program.”

The four young condors currently housed in the 6,000 square foot exhibit are slated for breeding assignments in the future and will not be released into the wild. Zoo officials hope their presence will inspire visitors to learn more about the species and efforts to protect its livelihood.

“Awareness is so important — getting people to connect with these birds,” Varsik said. “…I don’t think there’s ever been a greater need for that connection.”

Born in April 2007, the four condors will likely remain at the zoo for several years, Block said, until they start showing signs of sexual maturity. They will then be transferred to breeding facilities and paired up with potential matches. At that point, a new set of California condors will likely rotate into the exhibit.

After remaining in a brief quarantine after arriving at the zoo last month, the condors began exploring their new home, which features redwood and oak trees, a stream filling two pools, and 174,000 cubic feet of gliding space.

“They’re very curious birds,” Varsik said, adding that they have had no trouble adjusting to their new environment and proximity to crowds of people.

Their diet at the zoo consists of rats, rabbits, beef chunks and a bird mix. Although they are fed in a holding area near the base of the exhibit, Block said they often bring their meal out into the open before chowing down.

“I like to call it carry-out carrion,” Block said.

While the zoo officially cut the ribbon on its California Trails complex yesterday, the public is invited to a day of activities and celebration centered on the new exhibits this Saturday.

Zookeepers will discuss endangered and threatened animals featured in the complex and offer close-up animal encounters will several creatures, including Finnegan, an island fox raised at the zoo.

The first 700 visitors will also be “banded” with an armband containing the number of one of the zoo’s four condors or their ancestors — a play on the wing bands placed on all California condors to identify them.

All activities, including theatre skits, a climbing wall, crafts and dance performances, are free with zoo admission and will take place from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Zoo officials are hopeful that the four condors will give visitors a show, flaunting their massive wingspans while gliding from one landing spot to another in the hillside aviary.

“These are like the 747s of the bird world in North America,” Block said. “They are the big players.”

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