Condor efforts breed success and distress

This California condor was released from captivity on April 4 into the Sespe wilderness area in California, where she was born more than 25 years ago

By Environmental News Network staff

Numbering less than 30 individuals in the 1970s, California condors can now be spotted throughout the mountains, coastal canyons and valleys of their entire historic range.

But more and more they're also found on cars, in backyards and even in people's tents and houses. Over the past year, condors have pried shingles off buildings, stripping windshield wipers off cars and approached people for food.

Human conflict isn't the only problem wildlife managers are experiencing in their effort to bring America's largest bird of prey back into the wild.

The fledgling program may ultimately fail unless changes are made soon, according to a report published in the August issue of Conservation Biology.

"In the state of California, many people have an emotional attachment to this bird because they came so close to the brink of extinction," said Vicky Meretsky, assistant professor in the School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University and lead author of the report. "But it may be necessary to take a step back. In a way that's like taking a prize away from the people who have added to the condor success story."

According to the report, much of the condor's habituation to humans has to do with the way they have been raised.

"Many condors are reared in captivity by humans using condor-shaped puppets, and this has created birds that readily approach people, cars and buildings," explained Meretsky. "Behavioral problems have been common in released young condors that were taken from their parents and reared by puppets in isolation, but not in young condors that were raised by their parents. Unfortunately, despite this important difference, program managers have continued to release puppet-reared birds to the wild instead of limiting releases to parent-reared birds."

The study strongly urges that future releases be limited to parent-reared birds, especially ones that are raised free of all contact with humans in field enclosures that do not resemble human structures.

Only one release site, near Big Sur, California, has had a purely parent-reared group of condors, which for a while was essentially free of human conflict, Meretsky said. Nevertheless, these birds recently expanded their range and joined one of the groups containing puppet-reared birds. Lately they are reported to have followed the puppet-reared birds into developed areas.

Much of the habituation of condors to humans has to do with the way they have been raised, according to a report.

"Mixing the two stocks in the wild has resulted in the transfer of bad habits from the puppet-reared to the parent-reared birds," Meretsky said. "All misbehaving birds in the wild should be re-trapped and returned to captivity, since they pose a risk of passing on their bad behavior to birds released in the future."

"My concern is about when a condor attacks a 3-year-old child," Meretsky added. "We can't wait until there is a public outcry. There is too much support and funding to be lost. The condor does not need to share the negative reputation of the wolf. If someone gets injured that is a real possibility."

We are losing more than a quarter of the population each year," said co-author Nole Snyder, who wrote "The California Condor: A Saga of Natural History and Conservation," released in January. "The death rate of released birds has been too great to sustain a wild population."

Carcasses contaminated with lead bullet fragments have killed at least four condors since March, the authors noted. Seventeen lead shotgun pellets were found in one dead condor's digestive system.

"To re-establish any wild species, the main causes of its extinction must be identified and eliminated before releases of captive animals are attempted. This basic tenet is being neglected in the current condor release program even though alternative ammunitions are now available," said Snyder.

The authors of the report say the most promising solution is to require hunters to use a new non-toxic ammunition made from a composite of tungsten, tin and bismuth in areas where wild condors live. They blame government agencies for not taking a more active role in promoting the use of non-toxic ammunition in areas where condors feed.

"While this is a good alternative, these bullets are not available on the market," said Greg Austin, a wildlife biologist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. "We have to be careful how we approach this. It is a touchy subject and we don't want people to think we are shoving something down their throats."

While Austin admitted the recovery effort needs to focus more on lead poisoning and condor behavior, he said this shouldn't take away from the program's accomplishments. "It took 25 years to de-list the peregrine falcon. We are only at nine or 10 years and we have a long way to go."

The authors of the study hope their work can be applied to other recovery programs for endangered species.

"The primary lesson that needs to be learned from this experience is that each recovery program has unique aspects," said Meretsky. "A research component that watches what is going on and learns from that is essential. There was no research component to this program at all."

Copyright 2000, Environmental News Network, All Rights Reserved

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Conservation Biology
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Peregrine Fund
   •California condors
Ventana Wilderness Society
Los Angeles Zoo
San Diego Zoo
Captive breeding

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