A cinerous vulture chick hatches for the first time in 13 years at Lincoln Park Zoo

A cinereous vulture chick hatched at Lincoln Park Zoo on Thursday, May 7, marking the zoo’s first successful vulture birth in 13 years. According to the zoo’s announcement, the chick is the offspring of Virginia and Leon, the pair housed at Regenstein Birds of Prey.

Because the birds were first-time parents, the egg was kept in an incubator through hatching rather than left with the adults. Zoo staff confirmed it monitored the egg’s development using candling, a process that shines light through the shell in a dark room to reveal the embryo’s features.

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Veterinary staff also used radiographs to confirm the chick was positioned properly before it hatched. Animal Care staff are now looking after the chick before it moves to another Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA)-accredited institution, where an experienced foster vulture will raise it, the zoo confirmed.

Why the chick is leaving Lincoln Park Zoo

Zoo officials said the transfer is part of a broader effort to support both the chick and the species. By working together, AZA-accredited zoos can help provide the best care and strengthen the population of the birds in human care.

“While we’d love for Chicagoans to meet this vulture chick, we’re grateful to have a dedicated zoo community and the opportunity for this chick to be raised by fosters,” said Hope B. McCormick Curator of Birds Nicole Finch-Mason, according to Lincoln Park Zoo.

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She said visitors can still see the parents, Virginia and Leon, at Regenstein Birds of Prey and learn more about the species. Lincoln Park Zoo said cinereous vultures have a range from Southern Europe to China and Southeast Asia.

The birds are among the largest and heaviest birds of prey, weighing up to 27 pounds and reaching wingspans of up to 10 feet, the zoo confirmed. The International Union for Conservation of Nature lists them as “Near Threatened,” with numbers declining because of less available food and direct human threats.