![\"FILE](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/NU6FZO4VBRFFVNNTYPRFYMN75Y.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
FILE \u2014\u00a0Yurok Wildlife Department Technician Sandra Hahn releases condor B9 into the Tribe’s management facility.<\/p>\n
Courtesy of Yurok Tribe \/ JPR<\/p>\n
The visit marks another milestone in efforts to restore the critically endangered species. California condors nearly went extinct in the 1980s, when the last 22 birds were captured for a captive breeding program. Conservation efforts have since helped rebuild the population and reestablish condors in the wild.<\/p>\n
Yurok Tribe Wildlife Department Director Tiana Williams Claussen said B9 is an especially curious bird.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe flew almost 100 miles per day,\u201d Williams Claussen said, \u201dwhich means she was really utilizing the landscape the way that only a condor can, really taking advantage of those mountains and riverways that give good flight corridors.\u201d<\/p>\n
Condor B9 traveled in a roughly 380-mile loop over four days, flying north from Redwood National Park through Redding before entering Oregon and passing near Medford, Cave Junction and Brookings.<\/p>\n
Williams Claussen said condors are highly social, so she would not be surprised if other birds follow B9 into Oregon in the future.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur condors are doing exactly what condors need to do,\u201d she said. \u201dExploring and learning the landscape in a way that is very wild and free and a good indicator of their success over the long term.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Oregon flight is one of several recent milestones for the Yurok condor program. In March, two condors built a nest in the cavity of a redwood tree and laid the first egg produced by the Northern California flock, but it failed to hatch<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cEven with the egg loss, that was still a really amazing milestone for us,\u201d Williams Claussen said. \u201cIt\u2019s pretty common that eggs will fail in that first year, as these naive parents are really figuring it out.\u201d<\/p>\n Williams Claussen said they currently have 23 condors in the wild, all of which recently passed health checkups.The tribe hopes to release additional condors this summer.<\/p>\n Roman Battaglia is a reporter with the JPR newsroom. This story<\/a> comes to you from the Northwest News Network, a collaboration between public media organizations in Oregon and Washington.<\/p>\n