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#842 “Laura's Bird”

Sex: Female                             

Hatch Location & Date: Big Sur,4/24/16

Release Date: Wild Reared                            

Parents: #470 and #534 (and #204)                              

Local Biological Siblings:  #1003

Breeding Status: Unpaired

Offspring: None

#842 hatched in a redwood cavity in Big Sur in late Spring of 2016. 842 was raised by a trio consisting of two males, #204 and #470 (#204's son) and female #534. After capturing this young wild condor we were able to obtain a blood sample for DNA testing- the father was #470! Because she was raised in an extremely tall redwood snag, biologists were unable to safely tag her before she fledged. She continued to fly around Big Sur without a tag for almost a year! Our hope is that one day all the wild condors will be tag-less like #842 was for so long. We are not quite there yet; the radio and GPS tags are still critically important tools that inform us how long condors are surviving in the wild.

Condor #842 was named in honor of Laura Hubrich, longtime VWS employee. She passed away at the age of 53, ending her three-year battle with cancer. To learn more about Laura, click here.