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WatchList
Species Account for California Condor (Gymnogyps californianus)
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| Photo: USFWS |
Primarily dependent on large mammalian
carcasses, the California Condor is the largest vulture, with
a wingspread of 2.8 m and a weight of 8.5 kg. It soars above
a vast home range and covers great distances during its daily
activities. It is a social bird in its feeding behaviour and
associates in communal roosts, both during nesting and foraging.
The birds do not reach sexual maturity until age 6 and it
lays only a single egg each year; by 1987 excessive mortality
due to poisoning and shooting had virtually extirpated the
bird in the wild so that the decision was made to capture
the remaining individuals; the only condors left alive at
that point were at the San Diego and Los Angeles Zoos.
Successful efforts to breed the bird in
captivity have added considerably to its numbers and since
1992 there have been attempts to reintroduce it into the wild.
As yet this has not resulted in viable populations, in part
due to the continuing threat of lead poisoning. In the early
19th Century the bird ranged as far north as British Columbia
but by the mid-20th Century it was confined to southern California.
At present it exists outside captivity only at the reintroduction
sites in California north of Los Angeles and in the Grand
Canyon area of Arizona.
The primary threat to the bird during nesting
is predation on the eggs by ravens while Golden Eagles are
threats to the nestlings. Besides lead poisoning, a major
threat to the bird is collisions with overhead wires. The
reintroduced populations are the subjects of intensive study
and monitoring.
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