4 California condors from captive breeding program will be released into the Arizona-Utah flock

The California condor is the largest flying bird in North America and has been protected as an endangered species since the 1960s.

Later this month, four of the birds of prey will be released into the wild later this month near the Arizona-Utah border.

These four condors were hatched and raised as part of a captive breeding program designed to bolster the wild population and increase genetic diversity.

The Arizona Game and Fish Department along with its partners will release the condors at a public event later in September at Vermillion Cliffs National Monument. As of 2022, there were  roughly 116 condors in the Arizona-Utah flock.

This year’s event will feature an in-person celebration at the condor viewing site, as well as a livestream on the Peregrine Fund’s YouTube channel.