Watch a Baby Condor Hatch and Grow on Live Webcam

You can watch a pair of California condors, among the most endangered birds in the world, as they raise a new baby in view of a webcam set up by scientists at the San Diego Zoo’s Safari Park.

Shatash, 21, and her partner Sisquoc, 28, will take turns caring for the 9-ounce egg until it hatches in early March.

The hatching process will take a day or two, and if the chick runs into trouble along the way, Sisquoc and Shatash will be standing by to help.

Right now, Shatash and Sisquoc are tending to a life-like faux egg while theirs sits in an incubator. Closer to the end of the 52-day incubation period, scientists will switch the artificial egg for the real one.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE CONDOR CAM.

California condors are very nurturing parents. They’re also very egalitarian: Both parents take care of their young. Sisquoc and Shatash will discipline, groom and play with their baby. They’ll give it feathers to play with and rub their baby’s soft pink face with their own.

 Five to six months after Shatash’s egg hatches, her chick will start to hop and flap around the nest as it learns to fly. By then, its wispy white feathers will have turned to grey. The fledgling will stay with its parents for about a year imitating them and learning how to pick up food and forage. During this time, the young bird will also learn how to interact with other condors.

Today there are only about 400 California condors left in the world.

Original article here.