Two decades ago, the Yurok Tribe began working to honor the request made by a council of elders for the bird they know as prey-go-neesh to once again soar over their ancestral lands.
By then, the California condor had been absent from the skies for more than a century, meaning generations had gone without seeing the massive bird boosting a nearly 10-foot wingspan and capable of riding thermals hundreds of miles in a day flying overhead.
As in many Indigenous cultures, the condor is sacred in Yurok tradition. Believed to be among the Earth’s first creatures and the one who carries their prayers to the Creator, the bird also joins in the tribe’s World Renewal ceremonies to bring balance back to the world through the gift of feathers, which are used in the dancers’ regalia.
After years of meticulous planning, the first birds arrived in 2022, marking the inauguration of the Northern California Condor Restoration Program, a partnership between the Yurok Tribe and Redwood National and State Parks.
Joining in the homecoming were tribal elders, including some who made the original decision to return prey-go-neesh to Yurok lands. Before those four condors were released, the last local sighting was in 1892 after their numbers were decimated by settlers who poisoned and shot the birds.
Today, there are 31 birds flying free on the North Coast, with the newest fledglings on the block taking their first foray into the wild over the last two weeks, joining a flock already in progress and forging a new path for the endangered species.
According to updates from NCCRP, the seven recent arrivals are “doing fantastic” and “flying exceptionally well,” finding roost sites at night and returning to the release site to feed and socialize as they get their previously untested wings under them in a new environment.
“This year’s condors have done quite well since they arrived and are taking to their new free-flying circumstances wonderfully. I’m excited to see these birds continue to adapt and thrive in our region,” said Senior Biologist and NCCRP Program Manager Chris West.
While still teetering on the edge of extinction, the North Coast flock alone is now larger than the entire wild population back in 1982, when only 22 remained flying free in a small pocket of mountainous area in Southern California.
Five years later, the last ones were placed into captive breeding programs in a race against time to save the largest land bird in North America.
Over the intervening years, the California Condor Recovery Program has seen success stories. From those handful of birds, there are now around 600, according to the 2025 status report released by US Fish and Wildlife Service in February.
More than half of those are soaring on thermals at release sites operating in California — including Big Sur and Pinnacles — as well as Arizona and Baja California, Mexico.
The NCCRP is the latest to join the fold, marking the first restoration program in the upper reaches of the condor’s previous range, with the eventual goal of acting as a gateway for the birds to continue spreading their wings into the Pacific Northwest.
And, ultimately, for all California condors to reach the status West has described as “birds without tags,” able to live life without human intervention or having their wild numbers bolstered by yearly releases of captive-hatched birds.
But for now, the NCCRP will continue to reintroduce one cohort of prey-go-neesh every year for around the next two decades.
With every California condor now in existence one of the last survivors or a descendant, there are several birds in the North Coast flock with family ties — some closer than others. There are also lineages connected to the recovery program’s most iconic birds, including Topa Topa, the first condor ever taken into captivity and a keystone player of the captive breeding effort.
Among the current roster, there are a few sets of siblings sharing at least one parent while others are products of what’s known as double clutches, where the first egg laid by a captive breeding pair is removed, prompting the couple to often produce a second egg in a single year in effort to bolster condor numbers.
Now established for four years, the North Coast flock is entering a new era. That includes the original birds settling into adulthood, their heads taking on the colorful array of butter yellow, salmon pink and lilac that denotes a coming of age, bringing hopes the first wild-born prey-go-neesh in 130 years will arrive soon.
Meanwhile, new birds coming on board each year are able to meld into the highly social but hierarchical network of those already here, gaining from them valuable condor knowledge needed to navigate the place they now call home.
Here’s a brief look at each of the condors that has reclaimed a place on the lands and in the skies of Yurok Country, fulfilling that wish made decades ago for prey-go-neesh’s return, although, for some, their time here was short.
Mentor Condor 746: Gone but not forgotten, this 12-year-old male played a crucial role in helping to raise several cohorts of the North Coast flock, instilling in them the basic rules of what it means to live in condor society. He has since moved onto another assignment. While 746, also known as Paaytoqin, which in Nez Perce means “come back,” will never soar up into skies like his charges, he left a lasting impression during his time here, including dropping the first locally sourced condor feather to be used for Yurok regalia in more than a century.
A0: The first female condor since about the late 1800s, she was given the name Ney-gem’ ‘Ne-chween-kah (She carries our prayers) after taking her inaugural flight in the spring of 2022. Born March 31, 2019, at the Oregon Zoo, A0 marked a major milestone earlier this year by laying the region’s first condor egg in more than a century, heralding the beginning of a new era for the fledgling flock.
A1: The other half of the NCCRP’s first breeding pair, A1 — also known as Hlow Hoo-let (Finally, I/we fly) — hatched at the World Center for Birds of Prey on April 9, 2019. While their initial attempt was unsuccessful, there are hopes A0 and A1 will try again, potentially producing the first wild-born prey-go-neesh to spread its wings over Yurok ancestral lands in generations.
A2: Emerging from his egg on March 8, 2020, at the Oregon Zoo, A2 was the second condor of the flock to fly free into the wild, following just behind A3. The male just now coming of age for the late blooming birds was bestowed the name Nes-kwe-chokw (He returns or He arrives), which Yurok Tribe Wildlife Department Director Tiana Williams-Claussen described at the time as representative of “the historic moment we just underwent.”
A3: First out of the gate on May 3, 2022, was A3. One of the more dominant birds, Poy’-we-son (The one who goes ahead, “leader”) hatched May 24, 2020, at the World Center for Birds of Prey. Earlier this year, A3 was observed making mating overtures toward the next oldest female, A7, and, according to a NCCRP staffer, she “didn’t seem totally repulsed by him.”
A4: Part of the cohort released in fall of 2022, A4 was described as a confident bird ready to see what the outside world had to offer when his time to fly arrived. Called Cher-perhl So-nee-ne-pek’ (I feel strong), A4 briefly took the job as mentor bird for B0, B1 and B2 in the summer of 2023 while A6 was recovering from lead poisoning, the single greatest threat to condors in the wild. He hatched on April 29, 2021, at the World Center for Birds of Prey.
A5: Intelligent birds with distinct personalities, Willliams-Claussen noted at the time of their release that A5 was “a bit milder” than A4 and “more prone to a watchful approach, observing the world around him, and taking opportunities as they present themselves.” Born May 12, 2021, at the Oregon Zoo, A5 received the nickname Neee’n, which means “Watcher.”
A6: It took several attempts before this male hatched at the Oregon Zoo on May 22, 2021, decided to venture out of the release pen. Called Me-new-kwek’ (I am bashful or shy), A6 resumed mentoring duties for the 2023 cohort after receiving treatment. Several other condors at the time were also found to have elevated lead levels after they also fed on the remains of a poached elk shot with lead ammo, which was believed to be the toxin’s source.
A7: The second oldest female in the flock, A7 received the Yurok name He-we-chek’ (I am healthy/I get well) after being released following minor surgery to remove what appeared to be an embedded bone fragment that caused an infection in her jaw. Born at the World Center for Birds of Prey on June 2, 2021, this one has apparently caught the eye of A3, but time will tell whether things move beyond displays of the condor mating dance.
A8: A8 took flight with A9 in October of 2024. The two were released a year late and a bit out of order due to a delay in receiving the avian flu vaccination after an outbreak beginning in 2022 resulted in the deaths of 21 members of the Southwest flock. A8, a male, was born at the Oregon Zoo on March 15, 2022.
A9: Just weeks after his first foray into the wild, A9 was found to have potentially lethal levels of lead poisoning during the birds’ annual fall exam, a time when the entire flock is brought in for not only a hands-on assessment but a chance to make any needed repairs to the satellite transmitters and identification tags. After undergoing weeks of intensive treatment, the male hatched at the Oregon Zoo on March 31, 2022, returned to the skies. At the time, West described the moment as “pretty emotional for all of the crew.”
B0: Released in 2023 as part of the third cohort, the first to be vaccinated, B0 came charging out of the pen and immediately tried to usurp A0, the flock’s dominant female, in what was described at the time as a “a very bold move.” A direct descendant of Topa Topa, the oldest living California condor in the world at 60, B0 earned the name Pey-gel (Fighter) for her boisterous debut. She hatched April 28, 2022, at the Los Angeles Zoo, where Toga Toga still resides.
B1: Known as Pue-leek (Downriver), which “encompasses the flow of water and life to the north along the coast,” according to Willams-Claussen, B1 emerged from his egg May 3, 2022. That is the same day that the North Coast flock’s trailblazers A3 and A2 took their first flights into the wild, marking the historic return of California condors to Yurok country after more than 130 years of absence.
B2: Arriving a day later, B2 shared a nest with B1 at the Los Angeles Zoo, where the pair were raised by foster parents after hatching. Named Pey-cheek (Upriver), this female led the inaugural B trio in taking flight, with a NCCRP social media post at the time stating, “As the first one out of the three, her name connotes the start of the journey. The waters begin here and flow to feed the rest of our world.”
B3: Part of the 2024 crew, B3 was born on April 7, 2023, at the Los Angeles Zoo. A sibling of the late B7, B3 was among the last cohort of North Coast birds to learn the ropes of what it means to be a condor from the flock’s original mentor 746, also known as Paaytoquin, when he returned to the site for one more run after temporarily being relocated in late 2022 due to concerns about the avian flu.
B4: Taking on the mentor mantle this year, B4 took the newest seven condors under her wings this summer after being trapped to take on the role. B4 hatched at the Los Angeles Zoo on April 12, 2023.
B5: Also a young female, B5 was born April 30, 2023, at the Los Angeles Zoo. Part of the cohort that included B3, B4, B6 and B7, and later joined by the delayed A8 and A9, the NCCRP announced at the time that new birds would no longer receive a Yurok name at first flight but as the program observed “their integration into the flock to learn more about their unique personalities.”
B6: Released alongside B4 on Aug. 22, 2024, the duo’s tandem departures from the holding pen brought the North Coast flock’s number up to 13. The now 3-year-old male was born at the Los Angeles Zoo on May 9, 2023.
B7: After just three months in the wild, B7 died in January of 2025 due to lead poisoning. Born May 13, 2023, at the Los Angeles Zoo, he was given the name Pey-noh-pey-o-wok’ (I am friend or kind or good natured). The youngest condor at the time, B7 was described as a “friendly guy” and “just a joy to watch engage with the other condors.”
B8: Exactly one year later, B8 was also found dead. He was called ‘Ne-kew (Our little sibling) due to his insistence on “tagging along and inserting himself wherever the more established birds were congregating” despite being lower down in the flock’s hierarchy, according to Williams-Claussen. B8 hatched on June 6, 2023, at the World Center for Birds of Prey.
B9: Part of the 2025 cohort, this female hatched on April 3, 2024, at the World Center for Birds of Prey made news this year by becoming the first to venture into Oregon. On May 12, B9 set off on a four-day journey covering 380 miles, making it almost to Redding then crossing over northern Trinity Alps and Marble Mountain Wildernesses before turning north and nearly reaching Medford. Arriving back on May 16, B9’s sojourn “expanded the NCCRP flock’s range by 25 miles north and 35 miles east.”
C0: Hatched at the World Center for Birds of Prey on April 8, 2024, this female’s mother was also sired by Topa Topa. Shortly after arriving in September of 2025, NCCRP staff noticed swelling in her wing and the bird was transported to the Oakland Zoo for further care There it was determined C0 had “likely impacted something with her right wing hard enough to chip the radius bone.” After returning two weeks later, C0 was later released.
C1: Sharing a mother with A7, C1 emerged from her egg at the World Center for Birds of Prey on April 13, 2024. C1 was released along with C2 on Aug. 26, 2025, the first two of the largest cohort to date to take flight.
C2: A year younger than sibling B8, C2 hatched at the World Center for Birds of Prey on April 14, 2024. A male, C2, together with B8, B9, C0, C1, C3, C4 and C5, brought the flock’s numbers to 25.
C3: This male has some family ties to the flock’s original mentor. The 40-year-old father of C3 is also the father of 746’s mother. Born at the World Center for Birds of Prey, C3 hatched on April 14, 2024.
C4: Debuting on April 30, 2024, also the same breeding facility, C4 was released along with C3 on Sept. 12, 2025. The young male quickly learned some lessons in the complexity of condor hierarchy after he “tried to exert some unearned dominance and was reprimanded by some of the older, more established birds,” according to a post by Yurok Tribe.
C5: After becoming the 22nd condor to fly free over the North Coast, equaling the same number that were once left in the wild, C5 received the name Ruer-o-woo’-moh (Together we sing) to mark the milestone. “There’s still a lot to do to bring this world back into balance, but today our hearts sing,” Williams-Claussen said at the time. C5, a female, hatched on May 2, 2024, and was raised at the World Center for Birds of Prey.
C6: One of the newest cohort, this female emerged from her egg on March 16, 2025, at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park and took her first flight on Sept. 4 along with C9 and F1.
C7: C7 arrived from his shell on March 21, 2025, also at the San Diego Safari Park. It wasn’t exactly clear when this female was released but it was sometime between Aug. 25 and Sept. 4.
C8: The third of this group to take flight, C8 went out solo on Aug. 26. Born March 23, 2025, this male shares parents with FO, who was born a little over a month later, indicating C8 was the egg removed to induce a double clutch.
C9: A male hatched April 9, 2025, at the San Diego Safari Park, C9 is also a double clutch, in this case with F1. The two were fathered by Sisquoc, the very first California condor to ever be hatched at a zoo. Emerging on March 30, 1983, his egg was brought from the wild and incubated at the San Diego Zoo, an original member of the recovery effort.
F0: Born May 1, 2025, F0 — as noted above — has the same parents as C8. Along with F2, F0 was the first of this year’s cohort to take to the skies, with the two female birds described as “quickly darting out of the release facility” on Aug. 25.
F1: Taking his time to take to the air, F1 was released on Sept. 4 along with C6 and C9 but seemed a little more reluctant than the others to make his way outside. According to the San Diego Safari Park, where the male was born May 11, 2025, double clutches like his with C9 are done when “condor genes are underrepresented in the population, so their eggs are particularly important.”
F2: This female hatched at the San Diego Safari Park on May 31, 2025, and took her inaugural flight with F0. According to updates from the NCCRP, all the birds in this cohort appear to be adjusting well and getting their bearings here on the North Coast.
Kimberly Wear (she/her) is the assistant editor at the Journal. Reach her at (707) 442-1400 ext. 105 or kim@northcoastjournal.com.
This article appears in Condors of the North Coast.
