California condors have distinct personalities: one of the many things Dr. Estelle Sandhaus, director of conservation and research at the Santa Barbara Zoo, finds fascinating about the gentle giants.
“When they fly over you, your heart is racing; you can hear the wind in their primary feathers,” she described. “They’re just so enormous.”
Sandhaus helped develop the protocol and trained community volunteers and staff for a “nest watching” program, a significant factor in the conservation of critically endangered California condors. She will discuss her work in-depth during the Santa Barbara Wildlife Care Network’s “Wild Talks” lecture on Wednesday, August 30.