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Beak Boy (168) was fostered by a pair of Andean Condors (which are larger and stronger than California Condors). His foster parents accidentally injured him during a feeding and his beak was broken. Bird beaks are very sensitive and this injury took time to heal before he could be released. He has fully healed, but sports a regal, prominent bump on his beak. Beak Boy (168) is now one of the more dominant males in the Big Sur flock and holds his own when vying for a spot at a carcass.
In 2006, Beak Boy (168) paired with Solo (208) and they have been inseparable ever since. This couple appears to have the happiest "marriage" of any of our paired birds. In 2007, they became the first pair to lay a fertile condor egg in the wild in Monterey County in over a century. VWS Biologists were unsure about the health of their first wild egg, so the egg was taken to LA Zoo. Their chick, Condor (431), was later deemed genetically irreplaceable.
In June of 2008, Condor (431) and seven other condors were evacuated from a pre-release holding pen in Big Sur after a close call with a large wildfire. Condor (431) was successfully released later that year at Pinnacles and eventually reunited with her wild parents in Big Sur in early 2009. After several more nesting attempts, Beak Boy (168) and Solo (208) successfully fostered Redwood Son (665) to the wild in 2012 and, as expected, were spectacular parents! Since then, this pair has successfully nested several times. Their most recent successful nesting attempt was in 2014 when they raised Ninja (729). Although they have not had a successful nesting attempt since then, they remain a closely bonded pair and continue to nest together year after year.
In 2006, Beak Boy (168) paired with Solo (208) and they have been inseparable ever since. This couple appears to have the happiest "marriage" of any of our paired birds. In 2007, they became the first pair to lay a fertile condor egg in the wild in Monterey County in over a century. VWS Biologists were unsure about the health of their first wild egg, so the egg was taken to LA Zoo. Their chick, Condor (431), was later deemed genetically irreplaceable.
In June of 2008, Condor (431) and seven other condors were evacuated from a pre-release holding pen in Big Sur after a close call with a large wildfire. Condor (431) was successfully released later that year at Pinnacles and eventually reunited with her wild parents in Big Sur in early 2009. After several more nesting attempts, Beak Boy (168) and Solo (208) successfully fostered Redwood Son (665) to the wild in 2012 and, as expected, were spectacular parents! Since then, this pair has successfully nested several times. Their most recent successful nesting attempt was in 2014 when they raised Ninja (729). Although they have not had a successful nesting attempt since then, they remain a closely bonded pair and continue to nest together year after year.