Did You Vote for a Name for the Zoo's Condor Chick? Here It Is ...

The California condor chick hatched last month at the San Diego Zoo's Safari Park will be named "Cuyamaca."

The moniker, which means “through the clouds” in the Chumash language, was chosen via online voting. Cuyamaca finished with nearly half the votes, ahead of Niwish, meaning “to dance;” Tiyep, “to teach;” Aximay, “to be black,” and Tepet, “to turn, to roll.”

The chick can be viewed on the park's Condor Cam.

“This year's Condor Cam chick has attracted thousands of followers as people saw it hatch and are watching it being raised by its parents,” said Michael Mace, curator of birds at the Safari Park. “More than 4,000 votes have been cast to name this chick Cuyamaca, which is a fitting name because one day this chick could be seen 'through the clouds' when released in into the wild.”

The chick's parents, father Sisquoc and mother Shatash, continue to care for their offspring. cleaning, feeding and keeping the chick warm, activities which Condor Cam viewers can tune in to watch.

As the chick grows, whitish gray feathers will be replaced with darker secondary feathers. Zoo officials said the chick is becoming more active and can be seen playing with feathers, stones or other items the adult condors leave in the nest.

The parents will continue to tend to the chick until it is about a year old.

San Diego Zoo Global is part of the the California Condor Recovery Program, established in the 1980s when there were only 22 of the majestic birds left in the world. The population has since grown to more than 400.