California Condors (1 Viewer)

Thought you all over the seas might be interested in this short editorial from the Los Angeles Audubon Society's newsletter, 'The Western Tanager':

CONDOR UPDATE: AC-8, one of the last California Condors born in the wild, was shot and killed in February, 2003 during a sanctioned pig hunt on the Tejon Ranch near Bakersfield (CA). Britton Cole Lewis, 29, of Tehachapi, is charged with violating the federal law protecting migratory birds. To file charges under the more stringent U.S. Endangered Species Act, the defendant must know what species he was shooting. Tejon Ranch officials claim that they give pamphlets to all hunters on their property which, in big, bold print, tells them not to shoot any big bird, as all raptors are protected. Apparently, Lewis is unable to distin_guish between pigs and birds. His random act of stupidity and red-necked zeal sealed the fate of an individual of one of our most endangered species.

How many are there left now? I believe 50 had been re-released into the wild from the captive breeding program. It was down to 8 before they caught them all.

Sorry walwyn, took me awhile to find some numbers. In 1987, the last wild one was captured. There were then 27 in captivity. As of late 2002, there were a total of 202 birds, of which 73 were in the wild: 37 in the Grand Canyon area of Arizona, 20 in the Big Sur area of California, 10 farther south in the area north of Los Angeles, and 6 in Baja California, Mexico. Minus the one done in by the idiot above. I'm sure someone will be able to adjust my figures slightly, but that's basically it.

Looks like the breeding program at least has been successful.

Given the range of suitable habitat left is it likely that many more released back into the wild?

I don't think that's the problem. The condor is a massive, prehistoric being. There are no more mastodons or auroxes or megatheriums or direwolves, not even any more bison, roaming the west. Not enough carrion. Not that they won't release more anyway.

Hi Charles,

There's actually plenty of carrion for them. The problem is that a lot of it is kills lost or abandoned by human hunters, which means it often contains lead. Lead shot pellets and bullets are, to a condor, ideal lumps of hard stuff for helping grind food up in the gizzard. But they aren't, they're soft and quickly break up in the gizzard, so the condor dies of lead poisoning.

The other big problem they have is that in their past evolutionary histoy, they've never had to cope with pylons and other power lines. After lead poisoning, cable collision and/or electrocution is the major cause of mortality of the re-introduced birds.

Michael

I agree that lead poisoning would be a problem. I can't believe there's that many lost shot-dead deer. And the pylons-- why wouldn't other large birds have the same problem? ... Or, they probably do, eh? but they can afford the casualties?

Hi Charles,

You'd be surprised at the number of lost deer - so many hunters are such crap shots that they only wound the animal, which runs away to die of its wounds later. In rough country, the hunters don't bother going after them, too much like hard work dragging a carcass five or ten miles. There's so many deer around in the US, they just shoot another instead.

Yes, pylons are a big problem for birds. Condors have a particular problem, as their wingspan is long enough to make contact between two cables, so they get electrocuted; most other birds it is only the collision risk.

Large wind turbines are another problem, one that we'll hear more and more about in the future.

Michael

Very true about the lost deer, Michael. We live in deer-hunting country, and see too much of this. Deer have a huge will to survive, and a mortally wounded one will drag itself miles and die a horrible death. And it is very common to see crippled deer with obvious bullet-wound scars around here. (J)