As a society focused on preservation and lasting legacies, we take time to honor our heroes. They come in many forms: those who shape the world, and those closer to home: parents, grandparents, siblings, friends, and even the quiet, everyday heroes who give strength to our hopes for a kinder future. At the L.A. Zoo, that spirit of recognition lives on through their work to protect species from extinction. Among their heroes is Topa Topa.

Topa Topa is a California condor. Sixty years ago, he was rescued as a 1-year-old fledgling in a weakened, malnourished state, weighing just 17 pounds. After 10 days of rehabilitation, Topa Topa was released back into the wild with the hope of thriving among other condors. However, after release and continued monitoring, it was determined that there was little hope for the young condor to survive as there were no adult condors to adopt the bird. Topa Topa displayed weak foraging skills; a trait normally taught to the young by adults. As a result of this inadequate situation, the young condor was recovered and became a permanent resident of the LA Zoo

A Condor’s 60-Year Legacy

Bringing the young condor into the zoo marked the first time a California condor had ever lived under the protective world of any zoo in the world. At the time, the California condor’s population was in steep decline, and by 1982 it was clear the California condor was critically endangered. In 1987, a recovery plan was launched to recover all remaining condors and place them in protected settings, including the L.A. Zoo and the San Diego Zoo. At that point, there were only 27 birds.

With a strong breeding program at the two zoos, and eventual reintroduction into the wild for many of the birds, the current population has risen to 607. Despite this extraordinary rise in numbers, the California condor is still considered one of the rarest birds in the world and is still listed by the IUCN as Critically Endangered.

Topa Topa became an educational ambassador for the California condor, giving a face to both the bird’s plight and beauty. In 1993, he helped raise his first two chicks and eventually became part of the effort that added more than 300 birds to the recovery program. A key goal of the program was to keep the chicks as wild as possible, avoiding dependence on human care. It took years for the zoo to prepare Topa Topa for the kind of bird needed to lead the program, but he ultimately became central to the effort and a cornerstone of the program’s success.

Topa Topa is celebrating his 60^th year with the Zoo. In much of that time, he was its chief ambassador for the important Condor program, as well as becoming a vital part of the breeding program, which currently has 100 of his birds in the program, and 94 still flying free in the wild.

Topa Topa has become a remarkable force for his species, earning deep admiration for his impact. He can be seen as an essential element to the rise in the California condor population. He’s helped stave off the species threat of extinction. It’s hard to imagine that a weakened, 17-pound fledgling recovered from the wild would grow into such a force for his kind. Thank you, Topa Topa!