The Oregon Zoo has announced the laying of the first five California condor eggs of 2026.
Officials at the zoo’s Jonsson Center for Wildlife Conservation say they expect additional eggs in the coming weeks.
Fourteen condor pairs currently live at the conservation center, and nearly all have successfully raised at least one chick.
Condor egg-laying typically continues through March or April.
After hatching, chicks remain with their parents for at least eight months before spending about a year in pre-release pens. They are then transported to wild release sites, where they join free-flying condors in California and Arizona.
With only about 560 California condors remaining worldwide, the species is listed as critically endangered. More than 140 chicks have hatched at the Jonsson Center since 2003.
According to the Oregon Zoo, just 22 California condors remained in the wild in 1982. By 1987, the last remaining condors were brought into human care in an effort to prevent the species’ extinction.