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2020 was a year of trials and tribulations, and many of us saw ourselves in Iniko (1031), the condor chick who captivated viewers on our Condor Cam, powered by explore.org. Her name means "born during troubled times," suggested by camera viewers who watched everything she endured that year.
It began well enough. Iniko hatched on April 25, 2020, snug in a redwood cavity under the care of the most prominent pair in the population: her mother, Redwood Queen (190), and her father, Kingpin (167). But the good times would not last.
The Dolan Fire swept through Big Sur on the night of August 21, 2020, taking the life of Kingpin and nine other free-flying condors. The flames came for Iniko too, but she survived inside her cavernous nest. As Redwood Queen rose to the task of single parenthood, a new challenge emerged. An unmated male, Ninja (729), entered the nest, likely seeing an opportunity to claim the territory Kingpin had left vacant. Redwood Queen rushed in to defend her chick, and in the scuffle Iniko was force-fledged, falling to the canyon floor before she was ready to fly. The full story was told in our first documentary, Giants of Big Sur, Part Three: Born During Troubled Times.
Redwood Queen chased off the intruder, but Iniko's prospects seemed dim as she huddled on the ground with only one parent. Our concern grew as the days passed and the chick remained vulnerable, even showing a slight limp. On October 19th, our field crew moved in, rescued her, and hiked her carefully out of the canyon to the Los Angeles Zoo for treatment and care. She sustained no long-term injuries, and on December 4, 2021, Iniko was released back into the wild alongside two other female condors. Her story is a reminder that we, too, can make it through troubled times.
Back in the wild, Iniko flourished. She bonded closely with the other females in her release cohort and spent much of her time foraging and flying with them above the scenic landscape of Pinnacles National Park. She appeared in our second film, Condor Canyon, and as she matured, her head, neck, and eyes took on the vivid orange and pink hues of an adult. This year, at six years old, she reached breeding age and found a mate in Tyrion (840). The pair nested in a remote canyon in Big Sur, and we watched with excitement as she entered this new chapter.
The nest failed. Not long after, on June 18, 2026, we received a mortality signal from Iniko's radio transmitter. In July, our biologists hiked into the remote Big Sur backcountry to search for her, but the terrain was too steep and rugged to safely reach the location. The mortality signal, the loss of her GPS signal, and the absence of any sightings all pointed to the same conclusion. It is with profound sadness that we believe we have lost Iniko.
We take some solace in where she came to rest: within her own nest territory, in one of the wildest and most beautiful corners of the Ventana Wilderness. As our Condor Program Manager, Joe Burnett, said after hiking out there, it is a place worthy of her.
Iniko will be deeply missed. We are grateful to everyone who followed her remarkable journey, from a rescued chick to a thriving adult condor flying free above Big Sur.
It began well enough. Iniko hatched on April 25, 2020, snug in a redwood cavity under the care of the most prominent pair in the population: her mother, Redwood Queen (190), and her father, Kingpin (167). But the good times would not last.
The Dolan Fire swept through Big Sur on the night of August 21, 2020, taking the life of Kingpin and nine other free-flying condors. The flames came for Iniko too, but she survived inside her cavernous nest. As Redwood Queen rose to the task of single parenthood, a new challenge emerged. An unmated male, Ninja (729), entered the nest, likely seeing an opportunity to claim the territory Kingpin had left vacant. Redwood Queen rushed in to defend her chick, and in the scuffle Iniko was force-fledged, falling to the canyon floor before she was ready to fly. The full story was told in our first documentary, Giants of Big Sur, Part Three: Born During Troubled Times.
Redwood Queen chased off the intruder, but Iniko's prospects seemed dim as she huddled on the ground with only one parent. Our concern grew as the days passed and the chick remained vulnerable, even showing a slight limp. On October 19th, our field crew moved in, rescued her, and hiked her carefully out of the canyon to the Los Angeles Zoo for treatment and care. She sustained no long-term injuries, and on December 4, 2021, Iniko was released back into the wild alongside two other female condors. Her story is a reminder that we, too, can make it through troubled times.
Back in the wild, Iniko flourished. She bonded closely with the other females in her release cohort and spent much of her time foraging and flying with them above the scenic landscape of Pinnacles National Park. She appeared in our second film, Condor Canyon, and as she matured, her head, neck, and eyes took on the vivid orange and pink hues of an adult. This year, at six years old, she reached breeding age and found a mate in Tyrion (840). The pair nested in a remote canyon in Big Sur, and we watched with excitement as she entered this new chapter.
The nest failed. Not long after, on June 18, 2026, we received a mortality signal from Iniko's radio transmitter. In July, our biologists hiked into the remote Big Sur backcountry to search for her, but the terrain was too steep and rugged to safely reach the location. The mortality signal, the loss of her GPS signal, and the absence of any sightings all pointed to the same conclusion. It is with profound sadness that we believe we have lost Iniko.
We take some solace in where she came to rest: within her own nest territory, in one of the wildest and most beautiful corners of the Ventana Wilderness. As our Condor Program Manager, Joe Burnett, said after hiking out there, it is a place worthy of her.
Iniko will be deeply missed. We are grateful to everyone who followed her remarkable journey, from a rescued chick to a thriving adult condor flying free above Big Sur.
2025, 5-years old
2021, one-year old
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2025, 5-years old
2020, one-month old
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