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2 other babies also alive, but sanctuary destroyed in still raging wildfire
SIR SUR >> Iniko, a 4-month-old condor chick that was seen in a video flapping its wings frantically as flames from Big Sur’s Dolan Fire burned up the redwood tree where its nest lay, has been spotted alive, the Ventana Wildlife Society confirmed Friday.
It was one bright spot in otherwise devastating news coming out of Ventana’s condor sanctuary in the mountains east of the Big Sur coast. Ventana Wildlife biologist Joe Burnett confirmed that the sanctuary’s condor release facility and research center were destroyed by the fire.
“We were not optimistic as we hiked through the fire’s devastation,” Burnett said. “To find Iniko alive and well is simply a miracle.” Virdette Brumm, the secretary of the board of directors of Ventana Wildlife Society, said they had watched Iniko’s birth and growth on the webcam, so there was extreme concern about the chicks.
“When the news came from (the society’s) executive director that the sanctuary had been destroyed, there was anguish
in waiting until biologists could determine the status of the entire condor flock, including their chicks,” Brumm said. “Then the miraculous news came that Iniko had survived. Time and again condors are aweinspiring in their resilience, fortitude and beauty. Every day we hope that other members of the flock will appear.”
The chick’s name, Iniko, was suggested by “Condor Cam” viewers. It aptly means “born during troubled times” and comes from Nigeria. The chick hatched on April 25. Its gender will be determined by a blood sample when it is old enough.
Ventana Wildlife Executive Director Kelly Sorenson said Friday that Iniko was spotted from a ridge overlooking the site and confirmed it is safe. Biologists and other staff members got the green light to move into the burn scar Wednesday and haven’t been to the nest yet.
Sorenson said it was a close call, as the fire burned up the giant redwood to roughly 10 feet below the cavity where Iniko’s nest is.
The nest belongs to the male Kingpin (#167) and the female Redwood Queen (#190). Kingpin, an elderly 23 years old, is missing, but Sorenson said Redwood Queen is caring for Iniko.
Staff are not giving up hope for Kingpin’s survival, Sorenson said.
In addition to Iniko’s nest, four other nests in the Big Sur region were affected by the fire.
Of those condors, Iniko and one other chick survived, the fate of two others is unknown, and one, after losing its mother, was rescued by a Pinnacles National Park biologist and taken to the Los Angeles Zoo, one of the top facilities in the state to care for condors.
The costs to the nonprofit Ventana Wildlife Society won’t be fully known until staff can get into the sanctuary site, but a spotting scope confirmed that both the release pen and the research cabin have been destroyed. The Dolan Fire has burned 32,000 acres and as of Saturday morning was 40% contained.
A fund has been established with a target of $500,000 to assist in the rebuilding. Donations will go to reconstructing the sanctuary and providing for operations, Sorenson said
Recovery efforts before the fire were looking good, with 100 wild condors and
eight nesting pairs.
“We have been seeing a positive rate of growth, but we’re still far from where we need to be,” Sorenson said. “This has been a very serious setback to the population, but nothing is going to get in our way of coming back.”
Condors are federally listed as an endangered species. Their numbers are being affected by lead poisoning they suffer when eating carrion that was shot with lead bullets.
The Ventana Wildlife Society has been working with ranchers and hunters for eight years to try to get them to convert to copper ammunition instead.
Even with 100 condors in the wild, many more will be needed before they can get off the endangered list and move to the threatened list, Sorenson said.