BOISE -- The Nez Perce tribe held a private ceremony on Monday to welcome the community's newest member, a California condor hatchling.
Though condors have not been seen in the wild for generations, tribes across the region have cultural ties to the bird.
The Nez Perce tribe has been conducting studies in Hells Canyon to see if the birds may be introduced back into the wild.
Tribe members, including Allen Pinkham, say it is important to protect endangered species.
"If there's a species that's being endangered or near expiration, we need to speak with that species, no matter who it is or what it is," Pinkham said. "The Condor fits that. Very few are left in the west -in this hemisphere. So we need to take up the voice for that condor. We've done it for the salmon, we've done it for the wolf, we've done it for the buffalo. Let's do it for the condor as well."
The World Center for Birds of Prey is just one of four breeding facilities in the United States.