The Oregon Zoo and Norm Thompson are teaming up to help save an endangered species, the California Condor. Norm Thompson has created a milk chocolate condor egg with a chick inside just in time for Easter. The egg makes a unique gift and $5 from every purchase goes toward the Oregon Zoo's Condor Recovery Center. Visit http://www.normthompson.com and click on the condor image in the upper right corner to help save the condors!
MORE INFORMATION
For Immediate Release OREGON ZOO NEWS
March 7, 2005
Contacts: Oregon Zoo: Bill LaMarche 503-220-2448 or e-mail: lamarcheb@metro.dst.or.us or Linda D’Ae-Smith 503-220-5716 or e-mail: d’Ae-smithl@metro.dst.or.us
Norm Thompson Outfitters: Sunshine Morrison 503-721-4247 or e-mail morrisos@fleishman.com
SINGLE RARE CONDOR EGG DEEMED FERTILE
Zoo announces clutch of 5,000 edible condor eggs now available for consumption
PORTLAND, Ore.—Oregon Zoo staff carefully examined and weighed Oregon’s first condor egg of 2005 yesterday afternoon and discovered it was fertile. If all goes well, the zoo can expect a new California condor chick by April 21. Less certain is the fate of the 5,000 miniature chocolate condor chicks inside chocolate eggs, available for purchase now through April 13 from Norm Thompson stores and catalogs.
Portland retailer Norm Thompson and The Oregon Zoo Foundation developed the chocolate novelties as a unique way to celebrate the arrival of the most recent condor egg and to aid the continued survival of the California condor, a species represented by only 243 birds worldwide. Although the chocolate condors outnumber their feathery brethren by nearly 20 to 1, the zoo hopes they will soon become endangered: Norm Thompson will donate $5 from the $16.50 purchase of each 9.5 oz., milk chocolate egg to the zoo’s condor recovery efforts.
“We are helping to save a species,” said John Emrick, Norm Thompson president and CEO. “The condors are truly awe-inspiring, and we’re thrilled to support the Oregon Zoo in this most important effort.”
The single, much rarer fertile condor egg—not available for purchase—resides at the zoo’s off-site condor breeding facility. The oblong, grapefruit-sized egg was laid by Tama, one of the zoo’s female California condors, on Feb. 21.
The condor staff examined the egg using a process called “candling,” in which a high intensity light is shined through the shell to see if the embryo is fertile. The candling process was deemed too dangerous for the chocolate eggs.
According to Oregon Zoo Director Tony Vecchio, “This is an important step along the road to recovery for the California condor. The future of this species depends on the successful breeding of these captive birds.”
Based on trial tests, chances of survival look slim for the chocolate condor chicks.
The condor recovery goal is to establish a captive population of 150 birds and two separate wild populations of condors, one in California and the other in Arizona. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the California Condor Recovery Program coordinate and implement the recovery program and provide oversight of all program partners.
The Oregon Zoo joined the prestigious California Condor Recovery Program in 2001. The zoo’s 12 condors came from team members at the Los Angeles Zoo, San Diego Zoo’s Wild Animal Park and The Peregrine Fund's World Center for Birds of Prey in Boise. Tama and her mate Mandan both came from the Los Angeles Zoo as an established breeding pair who had already produced 11 chicks in captivity.
Tama produced two eggs last year at the zoo’s remote condor facility, located on Metro-owned open space in Clackamas County. Both eggs hatched to produce healthy chicks. The off-site facility is designed to minimize the exposure of young condors to people in order to increase the chances for captive-hatched birds to survive and breed in the wild. The eventual goal of the Oregon facility is to house 16 breeding pairs producing up to 32 young a year.
The Oregon Zoo Foundation continues to accept donations for its ongoing condor conservation efforts. Individuals that want to help save the condor (but don't like chocolate) can visit http://www.oregonzoo.org/Support/supportproject.htm or call 503-220-2493 to make a tax-deductible donation.
The Oregon Zoo is a service of Metro and is dedicated to its mission to inspire the community to create a better future for wildlife. Committed to conservation, the zoo is currently working to save endangered California condors, Oregon silverspot butterflies, western pond turtles and Kincaid’s lupine. Other projects include studies on black rhinos, Asian elephants, polar bears and bats.
The zoo opens at 9 a.m. daily and is located five minutes from downtown Portland, just off Highway 26. The zoo is also accessible by MAX light rail line. Zoo visitors are encouraged to ride MAX or take TriMet bus #63 to the Oregon Zoo. Visitors who take the bus or MAX receive 50 cents off zoo admission. Call TriMet Customer Service, 503-238-RIDE (7433), or visit www.trimet.org for fare and route information.
General admission is $9.50 (12-64), seniors $8 (65+), children $6.50 (3-11), and infants two and under are free. A parking fee of $1 per car is also required. Additional information is available at www.oregonzoo.org or by calling 503-226-1561.
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PHOTO CAPTION 1: Norm Thompson chocolate condor egg: $16.50. Contribution to condor preservation: invaluable.
PHOTO CAPTION 2: Oregon Zoo’s first California condor egg of the season. Cost: priceless.
Tama: As a bird from the wild, Tama is extremely valuable as a breeding founder bird. Tama’s experience in the wild allows her to teach her chicks how to survive once they are released. Tama likes new places, which has helped facilitate her child-rearing efforts in captivity.
Facts: Female
Hatch date January 1, 1976 (approx)
Hatched in wild
Captured from wild and living at Los Angeles Zoo since September 6, 1985
Weight 24 lbs.
Mate is Mandan
Has produced 13 chicks with Mandan and at least 6 in the wild
Mandan: As is the case in the wild, male condors run the show. Mandan is no exception as he quietly maintains order in his own laid-back and relaxed way. He was puppet-reared as the child of a wild bird, making Mandan first generation out of the wild.
Facts: Male
Hatch date April 19, 1989
Hatched in captive at San Diego Zoo
Hand Reared
Living at Los Angeles Zoo since December 11, 1989
Weight 20.5 lbs
Mate is Tama
Has produced 13 chicks with Tama
