As California condors struggle in the wild, more are released in northern Arizona
MARBLE CANYON — An endangered California condor chick was about to suffocate in its shell before it hatched last year at the Oregon Zoo in Portland.
His beak was in the wrong position, said Liz Musich, a condor zookeeper, and he couldn’t crack the shell open. Once he tore through the shell’s inner membrane, the small pocket of air inside would only last a day or two.
The chick needed saving.
Musich watched as a veterinarian slowly chipped open the shell with forceps. The chick emerged fleshy and wet.
He spent the night in an intensive care unit. The zoo’s condor team stuffed him back inside an egg from a collection they’d salvaged from past hatches, infertile eggs and dead eggs.
Read more: https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-environment/2018/09/23/imperiled-california-condors-released-northern-arizona-endangered/1406376002/
