VENTANA WILDLIFE SOCIETY
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          Condor Releases

December CONDOR RELEASE Zoom Video:

November CONDOR RELEASE Zoom Videos:
11/17 Postponed due to weather. Run time 1:01:57
11/18 Postponed due to weather. Run time 1:49:24
11/19 SUCCESSFUL Release! Two of the four condors fledged. Run time 56:46

​Twenty-Twenty has just been a terrible year for condors in central California with loss of condor life due to the Dolan Fire, lead poisoning and other causes.  As a result, we need to re-double our efforts to restore condors to the wild   
 
Help us Restore the Flock through releases and other proven strategies to ensure their survival on the landscape. Seven condors raised at San Diego Zoo Global are now being held for release in San Simeon, California. They were transferred on October 7 and will be released in mid-November this year, adding to the wild population in central California. Updates on their progress will be posted here.   
 
This year’s cohort of condors will be given names suggested by descendants of indigenous peoples of the central California coast. We wish to thank our collaborators from the Esselen Tribe of Monterey County and members of the Rumsen and Salinan tribal communities, all of which inhabited the region where condors are being restored to the wild today.

“We are honored to name a sacred California Condor. The California Condor, like many of our people, were critically threatened at one point in time, but we are still here, both watching over and caring for our sacred homelands", said Jana Nason of the Esselen Tribe of Monterey County.  

Linda Yamane, a member of the Rumsen Ohlone Tribal community said, “We are honored that these condors will carry a reminder of our people with them — that our ancestors cared for these lands and that we, their descendants, are still here today. Like Condor, our languages were once near extinction, but we have worked hard to breathe new life into our ancient languages and are keeping them safe for the future.”
The names of the condors will be assigned to individuals prior to their release.  All audio files provided by Linda Yamane.
​1) Pixchi (#966)
In reference to the sacred Pico Blanco Mountain, in Big Sur California - Esselen language
Pronounced: PEE-chee (final “ee” sound ends abruptly)
2) Tich’ (#995)
Means “condor” in the Antoniano dialect of the Salinan language
Pronounced:  Teech (with the “h” sound a little in the throat)
3) Wassak (#968)
Means “condor” in Rumsen language. 
Pronounced: WAHS-awk (final sound ends abruptly)
​4) Muursh (#957)
Means “to be dark” in Rumsen language
Pronounced: MOORSH
​5) Xakkin (#994) 
Means “to eat ravenously” in Rumsen language
Pronounced: HAWK-een (with the initial “h” sound a little in the throat)
​6) Sottow (#962)
Means “black” in Rumsen language
Pronounced: SO-toe (final sound ends abruptly)
​7) Xuchen (#956)
Means “to get to be first” in Rumsen language
Pronounced: HOO-chen (with initial “h” sound a little in the throat)

​BACKGROUND:
We began releasing condors in 1997 at our Big Sur Condor Sanctuary along the central California coast. Since then, we have helped establish another central California release site at Pinnacles National Park and more recently, began releasing condors at a coastal site near San Simeon. These facilities have helped expand condor distribution in areas offering important nesting habitat and scavenging resources. In fact, shortly after releases began in San Simeon, two adult condors came down the coast from Big Sur and established a nearby territory, being the first condors to nest in San Luis Obispo County in over 60 years.

Although condors are successfully nesting on their own in the wild, we still conduct periodic releases of young birds to support the growth of the population. Currently, we are assisting the Yurok Tribe and the National Park Service as they establish a condor release site at Redwood National Park. This project will expand condor distribution to Northern California and possibly even beyond.
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  • Home
    • About Us
    • Board of Directors
    • Staff
    • Big Sur Discovery Center
    • Wildlife Sanctuaries >
      • Wildlife Sanctuaries
      • Big Sur Condor Sanctuary
      • Lake Nacimiento Eagle Sanctuary
    • Media Coverage
    • Organization Documents
    • Contact Us / Get Updates
  • Membership
  • Wildlife
    • California Condors >
      • California Condors
      • Big Sur Fires
      • Condor Cam
      • Baby Condors
      • My Condor Bios
      • Recovering Condors >
        • Condor Releases
        • Lead Threat
        • Non-Lead Ammunition
        • GPS Tracking
        • Nest Monitoring
        • Electrocutions
        • Micro-Trash
        • Marine Contaminants
      • The Movie
    • Bald Eagles
    • Vultures of the World
  • Services
    • Consultation
    • Conservation Planning
    • Surveys >
      • Surveys
      • Other Wildlife
  • Education
    • Programs >
      • Programs
      • Required Forms
      • Bilingual Education
      • Nature Prescription Programs
      • Partners
    • Young at heart
    • Resources
    • Inspirational Youth
    • Fund-A-Need
    • Presentations
  • Join Us
    • Rebuild and Restore
    • Adopt-A-Condor
    • Events >
      • Feathers in Flight
    • Zoom-Chats
    • Legacy Society
    • Our Supporters >
      • Our Supporters
      • Corporate Sponsors
      • Foundations
      • Collaborators
      • In-Kind Donors
    • Volunteer
    • Employment
    • Store