National Park Service Partners With Argentine to Benefit Andean Condors

[Donna]

http://www.nationalparkstraveler.com/2010/01/national-park-service-partners-argentine-park-service-benefit-california-andean-condors5235

Story, pics and videos here:

[Judi]

Excellent article and amazing videos!

Now, um, if only the state of Utah would pass a no lead center-shot ammunition law, the birds that venture into Utah would be a whole lot safer... 

Judi

[Donna]

21 Jan 10 -

 Public is Invited to Observe Release of Captive-bred California Condors to the Wild on 6 March in Arizona
Two California Condors will be released to the wild in the Vermilion Cliffs National Monument in northern Arizona at 11 a.m., Saturday, 6 March. The public is welcome to observe the release from a viewing area where spotting scopes will be set up and experts will be available to answer questions.

This will be the 15th annual public release of condors in Arizona since the recovery program began in 1996. Condors are hatched and reared in captivity at The Peregrine Fund’s World Center for Birds of Prey in Idaho and transported to Arizona for release to the wild.

Currently, 74 condors are flying free in the Grand Canyon region. The world’s total population of endangered California Condors is 348, with 186 of them in the wild in Arizona, Utah, California, and Mexico. Condors were reduced to just 22 individuals in the 1980s when a program was begun to save the species from extinction.

Recovery and reintroduction cooperators include The Peregrine Fund, Arizona Game and Fish Department, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

DID YOU KNOW?
•    Prior to reintroduction, the last wild condor in Arizona was sighted just south of the Grand Canyon in 1924.
•    Condors reach maturity at about six years of age. They usually produce one egg every other year.
•    The condor is the largest flying land bird in North America. The birds can weigh up to 26 pounds and have a wingspan up to 9 ½ feet.
•    Condors were added to the federal Endangered Species List in 1967.