Condors’ comeback now includes first return to this California national park in 50 years

California condors may be on the comeback in the Sierra Nevada.

The massive birds used to occupied the region — where they were known to nest inside giant sequoia trees — until the 1980s, when the remaining population was trapped to prevent extinction.

While condors were reintroduced into Los Padres National Forest in Southern California in 1992 and have repopulated in parts of the state including Pinnacles National Park to the west of Fresno, several were spotted (and photographed) atop Moro Rock, a popular hiking destination in Sequoia National Park.

It was the first time condors have been seen in the park in nearly 50 years.

“As biologists, we are excited to see condors continue to expand back into their historic range. And also for the opportunity to engage with the local communities to share what they can do to contribute to the recovery of California condors, and inform them about threats to these birds,” said Laura McMahon, a wildlife biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s California Condor Recovery Program.

National Park Service staff weren’t the only ones to notice the birds’ return to the park in May.

The Santa Barbara Zoo uses GPS to track the condor population throughout California, identifying their habitat, locating nesting and feeding activity and finding sick or injured birds or those that have died in the wild.

“We use GPS transmitters to track the birds’ movement, which can be over hundreds of miles on a single day,” said Dave Meyer, a California condor biologist with the Santa Barbara Zoo.

“On this particular day, we documented the birds’ signals around Giant Forest, and we are excited that park employees observed the birds and confirmed their use of this important historic habitat,”

The sightings are further confirmation that the so-called Southern flock continues to expand its geographic range as the population grows. The flock is now estimated at 100 birds, occupies portions of Ventura, Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, San Luis Obispo, Kern, Tulare, Fresno and Madera counties and the Sierra Nevada mountains and adjacent foothills.

The total population of wild California condors sits around 340 birds in Arizona, Utah, and Baja California, Mexico and along California’s Central Coast, including at Pinnacles — where a chick hatched in 2016 and survived long enough to leave its nest.

It was the first time that had happened in the wild since the 1890s.