Rfalconcam Forum

By :EXPRESS STAFF

Construction of a new outdoor exhibit for a pair of California Condors is now under way at The Peregrine Fund's World Center for Birds of Prey in Boise, with completion expected in spring 2010.

The exhibit will provide the only opportunity to see live California Condors on display outside of California, said Public Relations Coordinator Susan Whaley. The 25-foot-tall structure will use state-of-the-art materials and allow unobstructed views of the huge birds. A cliff scene, complete with a cave-like nesting structure at the rear of the exhibit, will mimic the condors' natural habitat in remote locations like the Grand Canyon.

The World Center for Birds of Prey is home to the world's largest captive flock of endangered California Condors. Each year, young birds raised in Idaho are transported to northern Arizona for release to the wild.

The exhibit is strategically designed so that the pair of condors could breed and lay an egg in the nest cave. Biologists will be able to collect the egg and relocate it to The Peregrine Fund's on-site captive breeding facility, which would allow the young condor to be released to the wild.

Cool news! 

 :clap:

I knew you would like that Judi!

               
The adult female condor that was part of the only breeding pair of California condors in the county recently died of lead poisoning, according to a press release from Pinnacles National Monument.

Biologists rushed the endangered bird to the Los Angeles Zoo after it had shown unusual behavior - its legs were not moving properly and it stopped flying as often as it normally had, according to the Pinnacles' statement released Tuesday. After treatment to help the bird pass the lead out of its system and while showing signs of recovery over a two-week period, the condor perished.

That particular condor was part of the breeding pair that laid an egg at the RS Bar Guest Ranch in Paicines in the spring. Biologists swapped the condor egg at the ranch with one from the LA Zoo that ultimately hatched, with the young condor taking flight in October, the first time in more than 70 years here.

It originally was released in Monterey by the Ventura Wilderness Society but later successfully nested in San Benito County with a condor from the Pinnacles flock.

Veterinarians who examined the bird determined it had an "extremely high level of lead" in its blood stream and digestive tract. Researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz then conducted tests for the source of the lead and concluded the fragment was consistent with that of lead-based ammunition, according to the press release.

"The loss of this nesting condor is a blow to the recovery program for the species," said Dale Steele, program manager for the California Department of Fish and Game, in the press release.

The worldwide population of California condors reached a historic low in 1985 when there were just 22 remaining. Recovery efforts like the one at Pinnacles, started in 2003, have helped the population increase to about 350, according to the monument. Lead poisoning is known as one of the primary causes of death for the endangered species.

How awful   :crying: :crying: :crying:

 :(
mirta

Very sad that the condor had to die.  :crying:


Annette

Very sad. :(

 :crying:

Its so sad and so unnecessary.

Unfortunately, lead poisoning in condors, and other vultures, is the leading cause of death (microtrash is a biggie but lead poisoning is #1).  Our health center is the primary care center for condors that have been released.  We have the best in the field taking care of them but sometimes, no matter how hard they try, the birds don't make it...and all because some idiot human is either too stupid or too stubborn to comply with the hunting laws and buy non-lead center shot ammunition.

Makes me sooo   :tickedoff: !!!

I feel so bad for her...NOT NECESSARY   :crying: