![]() California condor E3 as seen from Indian Garden in Grand Canyon National Park. An additional 114 free-flying condors have been presumed dead after missing for more than 365 days. The total wild population now numbers more than 300 birds. Lead poisoning is responsible for 51 percent of the 234 condor deaths where a cause of death has been determined. The birds have been protected as an endangered species by federal law since 1967 and by California state law since 1971.Ĭalifornia condors have been making a comeback in the wild and now occupy parts of California’s Central Coast, Arizona, Utah and Baja California, Mexico. ![]() The birds were then released into sanctuaries and national parks where they can be monitored. history, and the outbreak could jeopardize the iconic vulture with its 10-foot (3.05-meter) wingspan. By the 1980s, only 22 condors survived world-wide, and the California Condor Recovery Program was established to help recover and conserve condors from the brink of extinction. LOS ANGELES The California condor is facing the deadliest strain of avian influenza in U.S. It was listed as endangered by the federal government in 1967. By working together with a number of Federal and State organizations, captive breeding programs have been able to successfully reintroduce these birds back into the wild. The California condor is the largest land bird in North America. In the 1980s, wildlife officials captured the last remaining 22 condors and took them to the San Diego and Los Angeles zoos to be protected and bred in captivity. The California condor is the perfect ambassador for the importance of zoos and aquariums. The population plummeted to the brink of extinction in the 1970s because of hunting, habitat destruction and lead poisoning from animals eating shot with lead bullets. A holdover from prehistoric times, the great condor is one of our largest and most magnificent birds - and one of the rarest. Condors can live for 60 years and fly vast distances, which is why their range can extend into several states. A holdover from prehistoric times, the great condor is one of our largest and most magnificent birds - and one of the rarest. The birds once patrolled the sky from Mexico to British Columbia. Common Name: California Condor Scientific Name: Gymnogyps californianus Life Span in the Wild: Up to 60 years Body Size: 3.5 to 4.5 ft Wingspan: Up to 10 ft. The California condor is one of the world’s largest birds with a wingspan of up to 10 feet (3 meters). Soaring over wilderness crags, feeding on carcasses of large dead animals, reproducing very slowly, it was not well suited to survival in modern-day southern California. Humans are considered to be at low risk from HPAI, although there have been reported infections. A holdover from prehistoric times, the great condor is one of our largest and most magnificent birds - and one of the rarest. Their hunting grounds stretch from the Pacific Coast to southwestern deserts and mountain ranges. ![]() They can cover hundreds of miles daily searching for the carcasses of large animals, such as cattle and deer. How damage from a US debt default could cascade across the global economy California condors are carnivorous scavengers that eat only carrion. ![]()
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