THE LATEST FROM VENTANA WILDLIFE SOCIETY

Tuesday, October 12th marks a new chapter in the life of Big Sur’s most resilient condor, “Iniko.” Escorted by VWS biologists, tomorrow morning Iniko begins the journey from Los Angeles to her release site in San Simeon, CA.

Iniko (1031), the 1.5-year-old condor chick who has been in the care of the Los Angeles Zoo since the Dolan Fire last year, is coming back home to Central California this week. Upon arrival in San Simeon, Iniko will be given an official wing tag, signifying her re-entry into the Big Sur Flock for the first time in over a year. Biologists have bestowed upon her the nickname, “Halloween Queen” due to the fact that she will receive an orange tag with the number 31 (short for #1031) painted in black.

On Wednesday morning, Iniko will be introduced into the pre-release pen with nine other juvenile condors. Viewers can expect to see Iniko on the explore.org San Simeon Condor Cam starting Wednesday morning, 10/13/21. Iniko will later be released to the wild on December 4th, 2021.

UPCOMING RELEASE DATES

• November 2nd: The first group of birds in San Simeon to be released to the wild. Live stream link will be available tarting in late October
• December 4th: Iniko will be released to the wild alongside the rest of the San Simeon cohort. Live stream link will be announced by end of November