We have the first wild born condor flying here in the sierra! Other chicks have been born but died from injesting lead shot (poachers in the park!).
We saw this one flying over our house a couple months ago, the dead give--away was no number tag/gps on the wing. Congrats Juan, Caty, and Mohamed!!
This is pretty amazing-remember there were only 22...that's 22 California Condors on the PLANET and now we have more than 300. INCREDIBLE!!!
The problem with lead ingestion is a major issue and sometimes plastic. Lead shot is not a good thing.....Young Condors have been lost I believe in
the Vermillion Cliffs area of Utah-AZ because of ingesting glittery-looking plastic.
Can't wait to actually see one flying someday when I can get back to the SSPMartir range.
So much Baja, so little time...mtgoat666 - 2-28-2013 at 12:48 PM
lead bullets and shot should be banned nationwide, in both countriesgrizzlyfsh95 - 2-28-2013 at 01:49 PM
Wow, didn't know there was condor in Spam.astrobaja - 2-28-2013 at 01:52 PM
I hear you mtgoat666! Alternatives exist for bullets but they are expensive, of course its all economy of scale, if they were mass produced the prices
would plummet! Of course the pro gun lobby would winge and whine that we are infringing their rights to pollute the environment with heavy metals!
Juan and Caty have had to take condors to the vet in Mexicali countless times for chelation therapy over the years! Lead shot is the worst it sits in
the crop and every time a pellet passes into the gut the poisoning starts again!
This problem with the condor population is far worse in the grand canyon, big sur populations mostly because the human population density is way
higher.
Still this happening here in the sierra is something to celebrate!Mexitron - 2-28-2013 at 02:53 PM
Great news!
Great News
Gypsy Jan - 2-28-2013 at 03:26 PM
I wish that there was some way to educate/convince poachers to celebrate the condor as it lives, instead of seeking a trophy.
[Edited on 2-28-2013 by Gypsy Jan]David K - 2-28-2013 at 04:33 PM
It could be possible the condors fly out of park boundaries and ate a bird or animal shot by a hunter, and not retrieved?
A condor was photographed at Punta San Carlos, by the Solosports Resort folks, as I recall... nearly 100 miles outside of the park. Remember, condors
are basically big vultures and eat the rest of what other animals don't eat. We can only wish the best of luck getting lead replaced with another
metal in shot gun shells.astrobaja - 2-28-2013 at 06:06 PM
For sure David that can easily happen too!
Actually the SPM population is reasonably safe due to the low pop density in Baja. We just got word today from a biologist working with the Grand
Canyon population that the 7th dead condor was recovered today, quite a bad season for them!!
Even though in the States there are programs where hunters can trade their lead bullets for non-toxic ones, but few do sadlyDavid K - 2-28-2013 at 06:12 PM
They got the lead out of gasoline... so let's get the lead out of shot!
Turkey vultures do so well... why are condors so different than their cousins at reproducing? Graham wrote a lot about them in his third book... time
to re-read Mr. Mackintosh goes to the Sierra (Or 'Nearer My Dog to Thee')!bajaandy - 2-28-2013 at 07:40 PM
Very cool report. Thanks for posting. It gives me a sense of pride to know I had a very, VERY small hand in the condor re-breeding program.
Sometime in the early 90's, a gentleman from the (then) San Diego Wild Animal Park came to us at the high school to see if my woodworking students
would be willing to help out by making dummy eggs for the program. He related to my class that although condors are not the best of parents when it
comes to nesting and caring for the eggs, they still need something to fool them into thinking they're still parenting after the egg has been taken
from the nest to be placed in an incubator. And, as it turns out, not just anything would do. They needed to have a correctly shaped, weighted,
textured and painted egg to make them believe they were taking care of the real thing.
Anyway, long story short (I know... too late), we made a dozen eggs for the program using rock maple turned to a specific size and shape on the lathe
and drilled and weighted with a steel rod. I know they continued to use them for a number of years, but have no idea what they use now.
Astro, was there evidence that all the other chicks died from ingesting lead shot? I ask because although I'm all for legal hunting, I'm also not for
making assumptions, especially knowing that condors are not the best of parents in the animal kingdom.
Looking forward to getting a glimpse of a wild condor in the SPM one of these days!Baja Bucko - 2-28-2013 at 07:47 PM
Oh yea....lead poisoning is a major factor in Condor survival-they have to recapture many birds and get them in to chelation therapy I believe it's
called. One of the CondorCam sites mentions what birds are in and out for treatment for lead poisoning.
Also a legal birdhunter FOR steel shot....micah202 - 2-28-2013 at 08:00 PM
.....Condor flies,,,,,chihuahuas BEWARE!!! Baja Bucko - 2-28-2013 at 08:27 PM
No, only ALREADY DEAD Chihuahuas need to worry...Condors only eat it if its already dead. They eat shot-with-lead carcass left-overs and then the
lead poisoning starts....micah202 - 2-28-2013 at 11:42 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by Baja Bucko
No, only ALREADY DEAD Chihuahuas need to worry...Condors only eat it if its already dead. They eat shot-with-lead carcass left-overs and then the
lead poisoning starts....
.....I'd still be nervous!David K - 3-1-2013 at 08:48 AM
That's a great story Andy, thank you!Mexitron - 3-1-2013 at 12:24 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by Baja Bucko
No, only ALREADY DEAD Chihuahuas need to worry...Condors only eat it if its already dead. They eat shot-with-lead carcass left-overs and then the
lead poisoning starts....
Not only dead but they wait until its good and ripe! My friend in SLO was one of the original Condor scientists in the program---he said they'd wait
three days for a dead cow to bloat up and then go in---head first!
David---they're not a whole lot different than Turkey Vultures but they are actually a remnant species of the megafauna from the last ice age---at
that time they ranged from Florida to California and feasted off even larger, eh, gamey game. The population was fairly low until the Spaniards
brought cattle to the west coast, which helped bump up the population. What all that has to do with the condor's parenting abilities I don't know.astrobaja - 3-2-2013 at 10:51 AM
Andy, cool story!! Yes they do know exactly what the birds die from since they perform yearly blood tests for all the birds, and when they encounter a
dead one they perform necropsies.
Mexitron: what I did'nt know is that they do not have a sense of smell they go by sight, turkey vultures usually arrive 1st and they see this and then
follow.
Lots of dead cattle up in the park this winter (lots of snow and no water) means lots for them to eat.
