Meet Milagra, a Rare Condor Rescued as an Egg and Newly Released Back Into the Wild

In late September, hundreds of people gathered at the base of Arizona’s Vermilion Cliffs National Monument to witness a miracle.

The crowd looked on as four critically endangered California condors were released into the wild. Two took flight in about 40 minutes after their enclosure was opened. The third condor, though, the one people had traveled to see, waited nearly an hour and a half before emerging. Finally, Milagra, Spanish for “miracle,” stepped out into the world.

At 17 months old, the young bird has survived despite overwhelming challenges. Her mother succumbed to avian influenza after laying her egg, and her father nearly died trying to incubate the egg by himself. Milagra was rescued from her nest in a northern Arizona cave, then hatched and raised in captivity by foster condor parents. The entire operation was a major effort by condor conservationists.

“There aren’t thousands of condors out there,” says Tim Hauck, director of the California condor program for the Peregrine Fund, to Audubon magazine’s Zoe Grueskin. “There are only a few hundred, and we will go to literally the ends of the Earth to save every single bird.”

In the 1980s, the California condor faced dire threats from poisoning and habitat loss, leaving just 22 individuals alive in North America. In a bold effort to save the species from extinction, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, in collaboration with numerous partners, captured all remaining condors and initiated a captive breeding program. This gamble paid off: Today, more than 300 condors soar across California, Arizona, Utah and Mexico, with an additional 200 individuals in captivity.

On September 28, Milagra and the other condors’ release was shared online in real time, “so that the scope and reach of this incredible and successful collaborative recovery effort can continue to inspire people worldwide,” Robert Bate, manager of the Vermilion Cliffs monument with the Bureau of Land Management, says in a statement from the National Park Service.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by The Peregrine Fund (@peregrinefund)

After bouncing back from extinction, California condors encountered a new threat when avian flu swept in and claimed the lives of several condors last year. Milagra’s mother, condor 316, laid her egg in April 2023 before dying of the flu. Her father, condor 680, who was also sick, then risked his life to incubate the egg.

“He was not leaving to find food and water for himself,” Peregrine Fund spokesperson Jessica Schlarbaum tells Scott Sonner of the Associated Press. So, during a rare moment when he had left the nest, biologists stepped in and rescued the egg.

They transferred the egg to Liberty Wildlife in Phoenix, Arizona, with biologists working intensely to make sure it survived.

“It was stressful, yet exciting at the same time,” Jan Miller, a veterinarian at Liberty Wildlife, told Audubon last year. “All of us were really pulling for this little chick that wasn’t even here yet.”

2024 California Condor Release hosted by The Peregrine Fund & Bureau of Land Management

Watch on

Thus, Milagra’s release more than one year after the risky rescue operation seems like a triumphant moment for the program. Shawn Farry, condor program manager for the Peregrine Fund, was part of the team that recovered Milagra as an egg last year. In September, he was the one who opened the door to the enclosure, letting Milagra return to the wild.

“Part of your brain is telling you don’t let them out, because that’s the best way to keep them alive,” Farry tells Audubon. Wild California condors still face threats, such as lead poisoning, habitat destruction and ingestion of microtrash.

After Milagra emerged from her enclosure, she spotted a carcass laid out by the biologists. Instead of taking flight, she decided to have a quick meal. Eventually, she was joined by a wild condor. This one was male and looked older. It was condor 680—Milagra’s father.

They probably didn’t recognize each other, Hauck tells Audubon. Regardless, the chance reunion felt to onlookers like a full circle moment.

Alexa Robles-Gil | | READ MORE

Alexa Robles-Gil is a bilingual science journalist based in New York City. Her work has appeared in the Guardian, Undark, Inside Climate News and more.