Pinnacles National Park is the most recent addition to our National Park system.
Pinnacles National Park joined the California Condor Recovery Program as a release and management site in 2003. The park currently co-manages 86 wild condors in central California with Ventana Wildlife Society. For more information on individual condors, visit our condor profiles page and Ventana Wildlife Society’s profiles page. Biologists use a variety of techniques to manage and monitor the population.
Pinnacles National Park is the only NPS unit that manages a release site for captive bred California condors. Juvenile condors are transferred to Pinnacles from captive breeding facilities (Los Angeles Zoo, San Diego Zoo Safari Park, Oregon Zoo, and World Center for Birds of Prey) at approximately 1.5 years old. Juveniles are then placed into a flight pen with an adult mentor bird and allowed to acclimate to their new environment for at least 2 months. During this time, park biologists regularly observe the juveniles to ensure they are displaying normal behavior. The juveniles are outfitted with radio transmitters, vinyl ID tags, and allowed to leave the pen one at a time. Park biologists continue to closely monitor the juveniles’ behavior as they take their first flights in the wild, ensuring they find appropriate roost and feeding sites.