California Condors
Gymnogyps californianus
Pair of wild California Condors roosting at sunset
Monterey County, California, USA
California condors are the largest land birds in North America, and once ranged throughout much of the U.S. The arrival of humans at the end of the Pleistocene, and the subsequent disappearance of megafauna that condors depend on for food restricted their range considerably.
Condors continued to decline throughout the 19th and 20th centuries in response to mounting threats including poaching, poisoning (e.g. lead, DDT), collisions with power lines, habitat loss, and ingestion of trash.
To save the species from extinction, in 1987 all remaining wild condors were captured to establish a captive breeding program in the hopes that condors would one day be re-established. Captive-bred condors were first released into the wild in 1992, and in 2002 the species reproduced in the wild for the first time since 1984, although all chicks died near fledging. The first wild chick to survive past fledging hatched in 2003. All wild flocks are now nesting successfully, though many organizations are still involved in supplementing wild populations with captive bred birds. There are now approximately 300 wild condors.
Lead poisoning continues to be a major obstacle for condor recovery. Thankfully, a statewide ban of lead ammunition in CA is scheduled to go into effect this summer, hopefully curtailing this insidious hazard.
California Condors
Gymnogyps californianus
Pair of wild California Condors roosting at sunset
Monterey County, California, USA
California condors are the largest land birds in North America, and once ranged throughout much of the U.S. The arrival of humans at the end of the Pleistocene, and the subsequent disappearance of megafauna that condors depend on for food restricted their range considerably.
Condors continued to decline throughout the 19th and 20th centuries in response to mounting threats including poaching, poisoning (e.g. lead, DDT), collisions with power lines, habitat loss, and ingestion of trash.
To save the species from extinction, in 1987 all remaining wild condors were captured to establish a captive breeding program in the hopes that condors would one day be re-established. Captive-bred condors were first released into the wild in 1992, and in 2002 the species reproduced in the wild for the first time since 1984, although all chicks died near fledging. The first wild chick to survive past fledging hatched in 2003. All wild flocks are now nesting successfully, though many organizations are still involved in supplementing wild populations with captive bred birds. There are now approximately 300 wild condors.
Lead poisoning continues to be a major obstacle for condor recovery. Thankfully, a statewide ban of lead ammunition in CA is scheduled to go into effect this summer, hopefully curtailing this insidious hazard.