World CA Condor Update – 2021 Population Status

Condor Enthusiasts -

Below is the population information on the California Condors, compiled by our partners at the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (as of December 31, 2021). For more comprehensive information about condor recovery check out their webpage. For information on individually tagged birds in the U.S. wild populations see CondorSpotter.com. All information provided here is compiled by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service from the many CA Condor recovery partners.

TOTAL WORLD POPULATION = 537

Number of new wild-fledged chicks = 15
Number of birds newly released into the wild from captivity = 24
Number of mortalities in the free-flying population = 28

TOTAL CAPTIVE POPULATION = 203

Captive Breeding is conducted at the Peregrine Fund’s World Center for Birds of Prey, Los Angeles Zoo, San Diego Zoo and Safari Park and Oregon Zoo in the U.S. and Chapultepec Zoo in Mexico City, Mexico.

Number of captive breeding pairs = 43
Number of captive hatched chicks = 40
Chicks held for release in 2022 = 35

WILD, FREE-FLYING POPULATION TOTAL = 334

Southern California, USA Meta-Population [est. 1995]:
Wild fledglings: 3, Releases: 4, Mortalities: 3, Total Size: 92

• Hopper Mountain Refuge (U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service)

Southwest, USA Meta-Population [est. 1996]:
Wild fledglings: 5, Releases: 12, Mortalities: 9, Total Size: 111

• National Park Service Condor Page
• Grand Canyon National Park Condor Page (U.S. National Park Service)
• Zion National Park Condor Page (U.S. National Park Service)
• Glen Canyon National Recreation Area Condor Page (U.S. National Park Service)
• The Peregrine Fund On Facebook as CondorCliffs

Central California, USA Meta-Population [est.1997]:
Wild fledglings: 6, Releases: 8, Mortalities: 13, Total Size: 91

• National Park Service Condor Page
• Pinnacles National Park Condor Profiles (U.S. National Park Service)
• Redwoods National Park Condor page (U.S. National Park Service)
• Ventana Wildlife Society Condor Page

Baja California, Mexico Meta-Population [est. 2002]:
Wild fledglings: 1, Releases: 3, Mortalities: 3, Total Size: 40

• Parque Nacional Sierra de San Pedro Martir (Mexico National Park Service)
• U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service International Program

Pacific Northwest, USA Meta-Population:
The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, the Yurok Tribe, and Redwood National Park announce the plans to release a new metapopulation of condors. This release has not yet begun. Stay tuned.

• Yurok Condor Restoration Program | Yurok Tribe
• Yurok Tribe brings 4 California condors back to the region after century-long absence – Times-Standard

WILD BIRD MORTALITY NOTES:

• From 1992 through 2021 there have been 120 documented deaths from lead poisoning in the free flying population.
• Lead poisoning is responsible for 51 percent of the 234 condor deaths where a cause of death has been determined.
• An additional 114 free-flying condors have been presumed dead after missing for more than 365 days.

California condor E3 as seen from Indian Garden in Grand Canyon National Park.

Photo courtesy of Rosemary Pfaffengut

California Condor 1111 in Zion National Park.

Submitted photo.

Prepared by Miranda Terwilliger, Wildlife Biologist, Science & Resource Management, Grand Canyon National Park. Updated: April 2021