Biologists Catch First Glimpse of Condor Chick in Utah

生物学家于犹他州境内首次观测到神鹰雏鸟

News Release Date: July 15, 2014

新闻发布日期：2014年7月15日

Contact: Fred Armstrong, 435-772-0188

联系人：弗雷德·阿姆斯特朗，435-772-0188

Zion National Park – It’s official: a pair of California condors are raising a chick in Utah.

据锡安国家公园官方发布：一对加州神鹰正在犹他州育雏。

For weeks, biologists from several agencies and groups have focused their attention on a rock cavity at Zion National Park. The cavity is 1,000 feet above a remote canyon floor. Inside the cavity, the biologists were hoping a pair of California condors had hatched an egg. Their hopes were realized on June 25 when a condor chick made its first appearance on the edge of the nest. This chick is the offspring of first-time nesting parents. The occasion is particularly momentous because the results of first-time nesters often fail.

数周来，多个机构的生物学家将目光聚焦于锡安国家公园一处海拔300米（1000英尺）的偏远峡谷岩穴。6月25日，当一只加州神鹰雏鸟首次现身巢穴边缘时，科学家们的期盼终成现实——这羽雏鸟出自首度筑巢的成鸟，其诞生具有突破性意义，因初育神鹰的繁殖尝试往往以失败告终。

This is the first documented occurrence of California condors raising a chick in Utah, says Eddie Feltes, condor project manager with The Peregrine Fund. This is great news. This pair of condors, and their newly-hatched chick, could be a major step toward California condors reestablishing themselves in southern Utah.

游隼基金会（The Peregrine Fund）神鹰项目负责人埃迪·费尔特斯（Eddie Feltes）指出：“这是犹他州首次有确凿记录的加州神鹰育雏案例，标志着重大突破。该对成鸟及其新生雏鸟的繁殖成功，有望成为加州神鹰在犹他州南部重新建立种群的关键一步。”

Keith Day, regional wildlife biologist for the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, says the chick won’t try to fly until November or December. California condors take about six months to fledge, he says. Their fledging period is the longest of any bird in North America. Day says the parents will spend the next year raising the chick. California condors typically produce one chick every other year, he says, so they probably won’t nest again until the early months of 2016. Fred Armstrong, chief of resource management and research with Zion National Park, says that many people are wondering where the nest site is located. Unfortunately, he says, we can’t provide that information because these birds are protected under the Endangered Species Act.

犹他州野生动物资源局区域生物学家基思·戴（Keith Day）指出，该雏鸟需至11或12月方可尝试离巢。加州神鹰约需半年完成羽化——这一羽化周期为北美鸟类之最。戴强调亲鸟将耗费整年抚育幼雏，鉴于该物种典型繁殖模式为隔年产一雏，下次筑巢预计在2016年初。锡安国家公园资源管理与研究主管弗雷德·阿姆斯特朗（Fred Armstrong）表示，虽公众持续探询巢穴位置，但依据《濒危物种保护法案》规定，具体区位信息依法不予披露。

According to Armstrong, Our top priorities are to allow the chick to grow and develop in a natural environment without significant human influence, keep it safe, and to protect park resources in the area where the chick is located. Those who are curious to see what the chick might look like should visit the condor camera at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park at http://www.sandiegozooglobal.org/video/condor_cam. The zoo had a condor hatch in their rearing facility within days of this wild-born condor.

锡安国家公园资源管理主管阿姆斯特朗（Armstrong）强调：“首要保护目标是确保雏鸟在无重大人为干扰的自然环境中生长，保障其生存安全，同时维护雏鸟栖息地的生态资源完整性。公众可通过访问圣地亚哥动物园野生动物园（San Diego Zoo Safari Park）神鹰实时观测系统（http://www.sandiegozooglobal.org/video/condor_cam）了解雏鸟形态特征——该园在野外雏鸟破壳数日内，其人工繁育中心亦成功孵化神鹰幼雏。”

The Peregrine Fund biologists found the nest by following radio and Global Positioning System signals from transmitters mounted on each of the chick’s parents. They started keeping a close eye on the birds after the pair exhibited nesting behavior this past spring.

游隼基金会生物学家通过追踪成鸟佩戴的无线电及全球定位系统发射器信号成功定位巢穴，并于今春观测到该对神鹰呈现筑巢行为后启动全程密切监测。

Biologists and the condor recovery program partner agencies got really excited when the birds started displaying behavior that indicated they were incubating an egg. The excitement grew even more when the pair showed signs they were tending a chick. On June 25, the chick made its first appearance on the edge of the nest.

当观测到该对神鹰出现孵卵行为表征时，生物学家及神鹰种群恢复计划合作机构进入高度关注状态；随后的育雏迹象更引发强烈科研反响。至6月25日，雏鸟首次现身巢穴边缘，完成关键生命阶段确认。

It was only a matter of time before the birds started nesting in Utah, says Chris Parish, condor field project supervisor with The Peregrine Fund. There is great habitat in Utah. It didn’t take long for the condors to find it.

游隼基金会神鹰野外项目主管克里斯·帕里什（Chris Parish）指出：“该物种在犹他州筑巢实属必然：神鹰种群迅速锁定本地优质生境资源。”

Working cooperatively with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, the Arizona Game and Fish Department, the Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Forest Service, and the National Park Service, The Peregrine Fund has taken the lead on reintroducing and restoring this federally endangered species in northern Arizona and southern Utah.

游隼基金会主导推进联邦濒危物种重引入与种群恢复工程，其合作网络涵盖美国鱼类及野生动物管理局、犹他州野生动物资源局、亚利桑那州渔猎部、土地管理局、联邦林务局及国家公园管理局，重点实施区域横跨亚利桑那州北部至犹他州南部。

For more information on the California condor recovery program, please visit www.peregrinefund.org/projects/california-condor,

有关加州神鹰恢复计划的更多信息，请访问www.peregrinefund.org/projects/california-condor，

or www.facebook.com/CondorCliffs

或www.facebook.com/CondorCliffs