Newsletter / Blog
2011-06-05 Lead poisoning of California condors.
LOS ANGELES -- Three California condors found in northern Arizona and
southern Utah have died of lead poisoning and three others had toxic
levels of lead in their bodies, prompting conservationists to urge
hunters to use non-lead ammunition and to carefully dispose animal
carcasses that condors could feast upon.
Biologists recently captured and tested nearly 30 of the endangered
birds in the region after a hiker reported seeing a dead, 11-year-old
male condor in the Grand Canyon, the Peregrine Fund, which is dedicated
to preserving birds of prey in the wild, said Tuesday.
Of the birds captured, two died in addition to the bird
found by the hiker, reducing the overall condor population in the West
from 391 to 388, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which
oversees condor recovery.
The other three birds were treated and released back into the wild.
X-rays showed one bird had 18 shotgun pellets in its digestive
system, another had six pellets and a third contained the remains of a
spent bullet, suggesting the condors died after eating carcasses of
animals that had been shot with lead ammunition.
Chris Parish, head of the Peregrine Fund's condor recovery program in
Arizona, said lead exposure typically occur during the deer hunting
season from October to early December. He said it was possible that the
recent exposures were the result of illegal hunting activity or somebody
putting down their animal by shooting them with lead bullets.
"The potential for scavengers to be exposed is there as long as a
carcass is available," Parish said. "We're asking people, if they're
going to use lead-based ammunition for any of those purposes, to remove
the carcass."
He said that if the hiker hadn't found the dead condor and reported
it, biologists wouldn't have tested the condors because the lead
exposure occurred outside of hunting season and wouldn't have been able
to capture, test and treat the birds.
Lead poisoning is the leading cause of death for condors, the largest
flying land bird in North America weighing up to 26 pounds with a
wingspan of about 9 feet. Condors are bred in captivity and found in the
wilds of California, the Arizona-Utah border, and Baja California. They
reach maturity at about 6 years and produce only one egg every other
year. |