PORTLAND, Ore. -- A condor chick nursed to health after a difficult hatching last month died during an emergency surgery, Oregon Zoo officials said Friday.

Oregon Zoo

The condor chick gets a little help from zookeepers as it comes out of the egg.

Zookeepers had helped bring the check into the world by helping it break through it’s egg because the tiny condor was too weak to do it alone, and they feared it would suffocate.

Then, zookeepers gave the chick antibiotics and a blood transfusion from an adult condor, which seemed to help it grow stronger in late May.

But then a new problem turned up recently when zookeepers realized the chick’s digestive tract had shut down, prompting the emergency surgery.

"Keepers worked around the clock to save this chick," said Shawn St.

Michael, condor curator. "When the chick stopped defecating, our only option was surgery."

However, the chick did not survive.

But despite sadness over the recent loss, zookeepers said they were excited about a new hatchling, produced by condors Woy and Wiloq.

 Background: Zookeepers help chick hatch

The new chick pecked through its shell the morning of June 3, marking the conclusion of another banner breeding season at the zoo's Jonsson Center for Wildlife Conservation. The chick was the fifth to hatch this season at the off-site center.

"We were a little apprehensive about this hatch, because Woy and Wiloq are a very young pair," said St. Michael. "In light of our recent loss, we decided to foster the egg to a more experienced pair, Atishwin and Ojai, who had been sitting on a dummy egg up to this point."

"Each new hatch brings us one step closer to species recovery," said St.

Michael. "Our program is relatively new, but growing in strength each year."

The Oregon Zoo's condor recovery efforts take place at the Jonsson Center for Wildlife Conservation, located in rural Clackamas County on Metro-owned open space. The remoteness of the facility minimizes the exposure of young condors to people, increasing the chances for captive-hatched birds to survive and breed in the wild.

The center is currently home to 30 condors and has produced 15 eggs since it was established. Of the 15 eggs produced, 14 chicks have survived.