#936 “ Sage”
Sex: Female
Hatch Location & Date: Big Sur 4/13/2018
Release Date: Wild Reared
Breeding Status: Unpaired
Offspring: None
This little girl has quite the scandal surrounding her parentage.
Without their tags to identify them, California Condors do not have any reliable defining characteristics - they all look more or less identical. Because of this, in order to determine the sex and parentage of our wild-fledged condors, we have to send in a blood sample for DNA analysis. Usually we have a pretty good idea of who the parents are, based on what we’ve observed throughout the nesting season and their behavior towards the chicks.
However, this year we had a real surprise! Established pair 547(mom) and 477(dad) successfully raised their first chick last year (#936). Or at least, that’s what we thought.... until the DNA results came back, and it turned out that 477 was NOT the father!!! While 547 & 477 looked like the perfect Condor couple, things are not always as rosy as they seem. The paternity test revealed that the 936’s father is actually 209, resident player and studly ladies man.
209 has raised chicks before, but after his last breakup he has been reluctant to settle down, preferring the bachelor lifestyle. It seems to be working out for him, as he successfully passed on his DNA and got unsuspecting 477 to do all the hard work of raising his chick!
Does 477 have any clue that the chick, 936, is not his biological daughter? Will 547 and 477 stay together? If they do, will 547 stray again? Will 209 ever settle down or is the freedom of the bad boy lifestyle too enticing?
Without their tags to identify them, California Condors do not have any reliable defining characteristics - they all look more or less identical. Because of this, in order to determine the sex and parentage of our wild-fledged condors, we have to send in a blood sample for DNA analysis. Usually we have a pretty good idea of who the parents are, based on what we’ve observed throughout the nesting season and their behavior towards the chicks.
However, this year we had a real surprise! Established pair 547(mom) and 477(dad) successfully raised their first chick last year (#936). Or at least, that’s what we thought.... until the DNA results came back, and it turned out that 477 was NOT the father!!! While 547 & 477 looked like the perfect Condor couple, things are not always as rosy as they seem. The paternity test revealed that the 936’s father is actually 209, resident player and studly ladies man.
209 has raised chicks before, but after his last breakup he has been reluctant to settle down, preferring the bachelor lifestyle. It seems to be working out for him, as he successfully passed on his DNA and got unsuspecting 477 to do all the hard work of raising his chick!
Does 477 have any clue that the chick, 936, is not his biological daughter? Will 547 and 477 stay together? If they do, will 547 stray again? Will 209 ever settle down or is the freedom of the bad boy lifestyle too enticing?
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