California Condor Population Update Summer 2008

p>The California condor (Gymnogyps californianus)breeding areas may be simply flat rocks or caves
is the largest land bird in North America. Thelike the one that can be observed from the
wingspan of a California condor is about 9Tonto plateau. No eggs or chicks have been
½ feet. Adult California condors may weighobserved at that nest but the parent condors
as much as 22 pounds. Condors are a criticallyhave been making frequent trips in and out of the
endangered species. Males and females look alike,cave bringing in carrion. They are behaving like
both have bald reddish-orange heads and whiteparent condors, both of which tend the chicks for
wing patches on the underside. They may live upabout 5 months.
to fifty years when conditions are appropriate. AsRangers in Utah have numerous reports of
an ancient relative of vultures, the Californiacondor sightings in the Kolob range. Rangers
condor feeds on dead animals.observed about 27 different carcasses that
National Park Service and U. S. Fish and Wildlifecondors fed upon in this region besides the
researchers are part of the teams who observefeeding areas that they manage nearby. These
and manage these endangered birds. Closeanimals were most often free range domestic
observation and counts of nests and mating pairssheep. Remember, condors are scavengers and
help them keep track of whether the Californiaeat carrion (dead animals). They are not
condors that were released into the wild afterpredators, nor are they a threat to sheep or to
their captivity are surviving and thriving. As ofpeople.
July, 2008 the official count is 332 condors, withThe summer of 2008 has been a difficult year
the largest wild populations located in California,for condors and other wildlife in California because
Utah and Arizona, 152 of these birds are living inof the major wildfires. The condors in the Big Sur
the wild.Scientists have observed Californiaarea were evacuated from their flight cages,
condors flying approximately 50 miles an hourwhich burned in the fires along with a lot of
while soaring on thermal currents. Sometimesequipment. Two adult California condorsthat
condors may fly 100 miles in a single day inperched in nearby trees and did not survive. The
search of food.condors which fled to the coast were surviving
Condors were identified in 1797 by a Britishafter the fire and all three chicks from that region
naturalist, George Shaw from specimens collectedsurvived the fire.
by earlier explorers who sent them to EuropeanThe expense of reestablishing the research area
museums. Fossil records show that the Californiaand field sites is substantial. Nonetheless the
condor population was widespread across Americasurvival rate of these condors has been
during the Pleistocene epoch.encouraging news. One significant question that
A recent report from the US Fish and Wildlifehas lingered since the last free condors were
Service indicates there are 8 known condorcaptured in 1987 has been whether the condors
chicks in California and one confirmed chick in theraised in captivity could survive and breed once
Baja region. The summary of breeding activity inthey were re-introduced to the wild.
Arizona shows only two nesting pairs remainCircumstances this year strongly suggest the
where there were five nesting pairs. Precisecondors can be survivors in the face of natural
details of failed nesting activity are not alwaysadversity. Lingering concerns about lead poisoning
known. Yet at other times they are very clearlyand California condor habitat loss continue to
documented. This depends on the location of thethreaten these descendents of ancient birds,
nests and conditions at the time of breeding. Sincewhether they live in Arizona, Utah or California.
condors do not actually make nests, their