Monday, November 15, 2021

California Condors Can Have 'Virgin Births' Founded by Study

 

    According to a study recently released, California condors, an endangered species, can have "Virgin Births".  Genetic testing from the researchers of the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance revealed that two male chicks, hatched in 2001 and 2009 that were hatched from unfertilized eggs were closely related to their mothers, but neither was related to a male.  Researchers believe that this is the first case of asexual reproduction in avian species where the female had access to a mate, where this had only been recorded before in female birds that did not have access to a male bird.  This finding proposes questions, such as if this occurs in other birds as well, just going unnoticed.  California condors are the largest flying birds in North America, with a wing span up to 10 feet.  

    These California condors ranged from California to Florida, and also Western Canada to Northern Mexico, until around 1967, when the population decreased dramatically and the Federal Government declared the condors "endangered".   Only 23 California condors remained in the whole world by 1982, and in 1987, all of the remaining wild condors were placed into a captive breeding program to try and increase the population and escape from endangerment.  The population made a strong enough comeback that in 1992, they were starting to be released back into the wild.  This saved the species of the California condor, or else they would most likely be extinct today.  

    The species of the California Condor was saved by the government restoration tactics, and by their ability to reproduce asexually and bring more condors into the world.  

https://www.usnews.com/news/news/articles/2021-10-28/study-finds-california-condors-can-have-virgin-births

https://www.fws.gov/cno/es/calcondor/condor.cfm

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