#444 "Ventana"
Sex: Female
Hatch Location and Date: Big Sur (laid at the Los Angeles Zoo), 5/5/2007
Release Date: Wild Reared
Breeding Status: Formerly paired with #340
Offspring: #681
Deceased: 8/26/2014 Lead Poisoning
At the time of her death, Ventana was the oldest living wild-raised chick in the Central California flock. She was truly invaluable to the condor recovery effort in that she did not grow up in captivity and was raised in the wild by condor foster parents with minimal human intervention.
Ventana also had the honor of growing up in the first-ever recorded redwood tree nest! She spent the first six months of her life about forty feet off the ground in a giant redwood cavity. As she grew larger, she began to hop and fly from branch to branch through the redwood forest, which was a delight for our field crew to witness! Ventana assimilated into the condor flock very smoothly (it probably didn't hurt to have the help of her big, dominant foster father, Condor #167, and her rather overprotective foster mother, Condor #190).
Ventana spent most of her time at Pinnacles National Park. In 2012, biologists noticed that she started spending more time with Condor #340 at Pinnacles and in the spring of 2013, they had decidedly formed a pair bond when remote observations confirmed the presence of an egg in one of their favorite caves! The egg failed, but this is common for a young couple. Unfortunately, Ventana was unable to successfully nest before her untimely death in 2014.
Ventana also had the honor of growing up in the first-ever recorded redwood tree nest! She spent the first six months of her life about forty feet off the ground in a giant redwood cavity. As she grew larger, she began to hop and fly from branch to branch through the redwood forest, which was a delight for our field crew to witness! Ventana assimilated into the condor flock very smoothly (it probably didn't hurt to have the help of her big, dominant foster father, Condor #167, and her rather overprotective foster mother, Condor #190).
Ventana spent most of her time at Pinnacles National Park. In 2012, biologists noticed that she started spending more time with Condor #340 at Pinnacles and in the spring of 2013, they had decidedly formed a pair bond when remote observations confirmed the presence of an egg in one of their favorite caves! The egg failed, but this is common for a young couple. Unfortunately, Ventana was unable to successfully nest before her untimely death in 2014.
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