Condor: Endangered birds hatch from 'virgin birth'

Wildlife Alliance Conservation scientists have reported the first confirmed hatchings of two condor chicks from unfertilized eggs at San Diego Zoo.

Scientists confirmed that each condor chick was genetically related to the respective female condor that laid the egg from which it hatched but found that neither bird was genetically related to a male.

Director of Conservation Genetics at San Diego Zoo said: “This is truly an amazing discovery. Our results showed that both eggs possessed the expected male ZZ sex chromosomes, but all markers were only inherited from their dams, verifying our findings.”

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