Ventana Wildlife Society

Join Us Dec 4 for Iniko's (1031) Release BACK to the Wild!

Don't miss our Special Guest, Dr. Tara Stoinski of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund

• Iniko, Condor 1031 on the Condor Cam!
Joining other young condors, Iniko is in San Simeon and will be released to the wild shown through a live-stream zoom on Dec 4!

• Special Iniko Keepsakes

Artist, Linda Lutzai

Beautiful Iniko Ornament!
$30
3.5" Frosted glass with image visible from both sides

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Iniko Tote
$30
14.5" x 15.75" x 3", handle 10.5"

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2020: Baby Iniko in her Big Sur nest with Redwood Queen (190)

Nov 2021: Iniko awaiting release back to the wild in San Simeon

• Have You Heard

Our Charity Navigator rating is Five Stars and 100 out of 100. Read more about our rating here.

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We are honored to have been given the Platinum Seal of Transparency by Guidestar in 2021, which less than one percent of nonprofits receive

• Twice as Nice - All contributions are matched by the USFWS

Thanks to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Endangered Species Fund, every dollar raised this year will be matched 1:1 up to $359,116. Please consider making a gift today and help the condor survive in the wild again.

We wish to thank the Nootbaar Family Foundation, Nancy Eccles & Homer M Hayward Family Foundation, Susan Graham and Bruce Mengler, Sheila and Alan Spiwak, Ruth Smart Foundation, Kinnoull Foundation, Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, Avangrid Foundation, Sherilyn Dunklau, Pacific Gas & Electric Company, Sylvanus Charitable Trust, Jean and Tim Weiss, and Mark and Joan Loebel and the many other donors who have contributed toward the matching grant by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Double your gift - DONATE ONLINE or mail a check to:
Ventana Wildlife Society
9699 Blue Larkspur Ln, Ste 105
Monterey, CA 93940

Your support enables us to continue
- Minimize hazards such as lead poisoning from the ingestion of spent ammunition.
- Ensuring the survival of condor chicks and adult pairs as they successfully nest in the wild.
- Conducting releases of captive-bred condors to the wild every year.

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• Big Sur Condor Sanctuary Rebuild Update, Oct 2021 - Watch Video

Species Recovery
Conserving Native Wildlife and Their Habitats Since 1977

During 1986-2000, we released 70 juvenile Bald Eagles at our Big Sur wildlife sanctuary. Our goal was to establish a population of four adult breeding Bald Eagle pairs, in the hopes of creating a self-sustaining population. At our last count, we found 30 nesting territories. The wild Bald Eagle population is thriving!

Condors
Restoring California Condors to the Wild Since 1997

condor cams

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Email me Condor updates

By the 1980s, the California Condor population was in crisis, and
extinction in the wild seemed imminent. The dramatic decline of condors
in the 20th century has been attributed to shooting, poisoning, electric
power lines, egg collecting, and habitat loss. In 1987, the last wild
California Condor was taken into captivity to join the 26 remaining
condors in an attempt to bolster the population through a captive
breeding program. At that time, it was uncertain whether or not North
America's largest flying land bird (by wingspan, 9.5 feet) would ever
again soar in the wild.

Help Us Restore the Central California Condor Flock
Spring has brought new hope with the arrival of two new condor chicks and several others on the way! You can build upon this hope and help us restore the critically endangered California Condor to the wild. READ MORE

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Education
Connecting Youth to Nature Since 1992

Since 1992, we've been providing outdoor education programs for youth. We pick them up in our fleet of four 15-passenger vans, meeting in communities from Marina to Salinas, and inland from Prunedale to Greenfield. Our destinations have included whale watching boats in the bay, kayaks at Elkhorn Slough, tidepools at Point Pinos, caves in Pinnacles National Park, and forests in the Ventana Wilderness. We provide opportunities for children who have never experienced these things before and offer the discovery of a new world, new emotions, and new possibilities. More than 1,300 youth enroll in our outdoor education programs each year, but we still focus on the individual, their unique discoveries, and the potential they have to shape the lives of others.

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