The Bureau of Land Management marked 30 years of California condor releases at Vermilion Cliffs National Monument in northern Arizona. Four juvenile birds were included in this year’s release on September 26.
The release pens opened in the morning, allowing the young condors to leave when they were ready. All four took flight within an hour.
The BLM says the condor population has grown from 22 birds in the late 1980s to more than 600 today, with 392 flying free across four release sites.
Recovery work includes captive breeding, habitat management and ongoing monitoring, carried out with state and federal agencies, The Peregrine Fund and tribal partners.
