The California Condor: Recovering a Local Icon

The California Condor is a flagship of wildlife conservation. In the 1980s, the species hovered near the brink of extinction in the with a world population low of just 23 individuals. Today, as a result of collaborative conservation efforts, the species numbers more than 560, with more than half flying free in parts of California, Arizona, Utah, Nevada, and Baja California, Mexico. Join Santa Barbara Zoo Director of Conservation & Science Estelle Sandhaus, Ph.D., to learn more about this iconic vulture that shares our backyard. Dr. Sandhaus will explain what you can do to help the recovery efforts, as well as some new insights on family dynamics in one of the bird world’s most devoted parents.  

Estelle's conservation journey began as a biology student at UC San Diego, volunteering for the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance’s giant panda project. Her interest sparked in animal behavior's role in conservation, she pursued graduate work at Georgia Tech’s Center for Conservation and Behavior, initially focusing on giant panda behavior at the Chengdu Research Base for Giant Panda Breeding. During her studies, Estelle was hired by the Santa Barbara Zoo, which works with various agencies to recover threatened and endangered species endemic to their biodiverse region, from the colorful monarch butterfly to the feisty southern sea otter. Estelle was soon drawn to the plight of reintroduced condors in southern California – nest success in this critically endangered scavenger was abysmally low, largely due to the presence of microtrash in their habitat that was being ingested by chicks. She partnered with the US Fish and Wildlife Service to develop the California Condor Nest Guarding Program, which, through thousands of hours of field observations, interventions, and education and outreach in the urban communities that share the condor’s landscape, has dramatically increased nest success. As a result, more than one quarter of the southern California condor flock is now wild-fledged, and her team’s work has been published in books and scientific journals, presented worldwide, and featured in popular media. Estelle is passionate about conserving vultures globally and serves as Program Leader for the Association of Zoos and Aquariums African Vulture SAFE Program, which supports field partners in Kenya, Tanzania, and South Africa.