Topa Topa—the oldest living California condor—celebrates his 60th birthday this month. His story is a remarkable one, beginning with his capture as a young condor in a remote canyon of Los Padres National Forest. After attempts to release him back into the wild failed, Topa Topa became a pioneer of the modern-day captive breeding program, fathering many condors that are commanding the skies today.
He was born in April 1966, at a time when California condors were rapidly declining in numbers. Only a few dozen condors remained in the wild, and just before Topa Topa’s first birthday, his species was placed on the endangered species list. Decades of shooting, egg collecting, poisoning, and lead contamination had taken its toll, and the giant birds seemed destined for extinction.
Rescue in Matilija Canyon
As a fledgling who had recently left his nest, Topa Topa was still learning how to survive in the wild. An angler fishing in Matilija Creek noticed the young condor sitting in a tree in the canyon bottom without his parents in sight, and reported the unusual encounter. Biologists arrived on site, found Topa Topa weak and malnourished, and grew concerned that he would not survive without intervention. They crawled and bushwacked through a hillside of poison oak, captured the bird, and took him to the Los Angeles Zoo for rehabilitation. There, he was named after his home mountain range.
Rescued Again
Topa Topa was eventually returned to the wild under the watchful eye of biologists with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, U.S. Forest Service, and the Audubon Society. But he was rejected and attached by adult condors, and was later found hanging upside down in a tangled patch of chaparral shrubs. The biologists decided that the best course of action was to return him to the zoo permanently. Topa Topa thus became the first California condor to live in captivity.
The First Ambassador
If they wanted to breed Topa Topa with another condor, the biologists needed to correctly identify Topa Topa’s sex, wait for the bird to reach breeding age (6-8 years old), and find a suitable mate. In the early years, before DNA analysis, there was no easy way to identify the sex of a condor. Flipping up its tail feathers only revealed…well, more feathers.
While a suitable mate remained elusive, Topa Topa was placed into a public exhibit in 1978 to serve as an educational ambassador for the species. The plight of the California condor now had a (bald and beautiful in its own right) public face.
A Difficult Decision
As public awareness over the plight of condors intensified, the number of California condors in the wild continued to decline. In 1982, biologists made the decision to capture all 22 California condors remaining in the wild and start a captive breeding program. Topa Topa transitioned from his public-facing role to a behind-the-scenes program at the L.A. Zoo, where he would play a leading role in bringing one of the most iconic species back from the brink of extinction.
Topa Topa Rescues a Species
Topa Topa sired his first two chicks in 1993. His lineage today is a testament to the success of the California Condor Recovery Program. He has contributed to the production of roughly 300 birds over his lifetime. One hundred of them serve as breeding condors or mentors that teach younger birds how to survive in the wild. Another 94 of them are still flying free in the wild today, representing nearly one-fourth of the total wild condor population.
On the Path to Recovery, Threats Remain
While condor populations continue to rise, severe threats to their survival remain. They continue to suffer health problems caused by lead poisoning from consuming carrion containing lead ammunition. High lead levels in a condor’s bloodstream can be fatal. Condors also face new threats like avian influenza, and ongoing challenges—including collisions with power lines, shooting, and destruction of their habitat—remain.
About California Condors
The California condor is the largest land bird in North America, with wings spanning nine-and-a-half feet. The species is classified as Critically Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Adult condors stand at around three feet and weigh 17 to 25 pounds. They can soar to heights of 15,000 feet and travel up to 150 miles a day. Like vultures and other scavengers, condors are part of nature’s cleaning crew, feeding on the carcasses of large mammals like elk, deer, whales, and seals.
Cover photo by Jamie Pham, courtesy of L.A. Zoo.