The complicated love story between two endangered California condors from Navajo Bridge might just be the real take on love we need to hear on Valentine’s Day — sometimes love is complicated.
The story released by KÜHL and The Peregrine Fund starts when a pair of condors, male #619 and female #775, were first spotted together in February 2022 and laid an egg later that spring. When it broke the eggshell, the young chick was the #1150th condor hatched in the recovery program meant to prevent the species from going extinct.
After months of growing up on a cliff edge, the condor #1150 made its first flight on November 12th, 2022. He had another 12 months left to spend with his parents, to learn ‘how to be a real condor’, but his mom died in March 2023, due to Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI). The bird flu claimed 21 condor lives and set the California condor recovery program a decade back.
In the face of such loss, the male condor #619 raised his chick by himself.
‘Fortunately, #619 is an incredibly devoted father. He continued to feed #1150 and keep a watch on him when he began to explore the Grand Canyon, while both escaped the grasp of HPAI. #1150 is now fully independent and able to find food on its long flights over the high desert country’, says Tim Hauck, Project Director for the California Condor Reintroduction Program.
California condors mate for life, but the loss of a partner often marks the beginning of a quest for continuity of the species. For #619, this quest led him to #741, another female condor and a potential new partner.
The odds turned quickly against them when a health check revealed that #619 had lead poisoning, likely from eating animal remains on the landscape that was shot with lead-based ammunition. Just after he was treated and released into the wild, to resume his courtship with his new partner, the female condor #741 had to be trapped and treated for lead poisoning as well.
After getting treatment, the female was released, with everyone hoping that the bond could be rekindled and the species perpetuated. However, a couple of days ago, another condor, male #354, came into the picture and started courting the female #741. With a history of successful mating, the new male seems set on disrupting the budding relationship between #619 and #741.
This twist in the story is a clear reminder that human actions and avian flu have not only been a decrease in the numbers of condors, but have also stirred the mating dynamics of these birds. And that, just like for humans, love can sometimes be complicated.
Time will tell how this story unfolds, but this Valentine’s Day, KÜHL and The Peregrine Fund invite you to be part of the love story of Navajo Bridge anddonate to support the ongoing work to protect the beautiful and endangered California Condor.
Featured image by: John Sherman.
