Oregon Zoo Evacuated More than 40 Endangered California Condors From an Offsite Facility Near the Clackamas Fires

Twenty-six of the condors are now being driven by zoo keepers to Boise, Idaho.

(Courtesy of Oregon Zoo)
By Shannon Gormley

Over 40 California condors were evacuated from an Oregon Zoo offsite facility this week.

Oregon Zoo's Jonsson Center for Wildlife Conservation, located in rural Clackamas County, raises the critically endangered giant vultures for release into the wild. This spring, seven condor chicks hatched at the center, which, with barely over 500 condors in the wild, makes up about 1% of the species' worldwide population.

As wildfires continue to rage in Clackamas County, zoo keepers were forced to relocate the birds, which can weigh up to 30 pounds and have wingspans of 10 feet.

According to a press release, 26 of the condors are now being driven by zoo keepers to the Peregrine Fund's World Center for Birds of Prey in Boise, Idaho, including two chicks who have yet to fledge. The rest of the birds have been transferred to the Oregon Zoo.

But while the birds are safe, the future of the center is uncertain. It's now located in a Level 3 evacuation zone, and fire officials are still working to control the flames.

Two weeks ago, a condor sanctuary in Big Sur, Calif., was destroyed in a wildfire.

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