CALIFORNIA CONDOR PROBLEMS

["Pomera M. Fronce" <pinkstring at xmission dot com>]

Hi Folks -

I received this information from Bob Walters and thought you might find it
interesting.  And as to the last paragraph, who are the real idiots???

Pomera


CALIFORNIA CONDOR PROBLEMS

It was only about twenty years ago that the chances for California Condor
survival seemed almost hopeless. Since then, daring approaches, solid
science, hard work, and a spirit of optimism have buoyed chances for the
condor's positive future.

With healthy appearing experimental populations flying free, it seems as
though we may have turned the corner, or at least approached the corner, for
this species.

Lead bullets in the environment (i.e., in carrion) have been seen as the
only significant impediment to condor population growth, while other things
have certainly been looking up.

Last month, however, researchers at the Hopper Mountain National Wildlife
Refuge in California had to remove a condor chick from the nest of male #21
and female #192. The chick appeared to be underdeveloped and was losing
feathers; however, once in hand, the bird to have something impacted in
its crop and gut.

After transporting the chick to the Los Angeles Zoo, and following a
three-hour operation, an astounding amount of material was removed from the
ventriculus and proventriculus of the condor chick. The following items were
among the debris removed from the chick: 4 bottle caps and a screw top, 3
electrical fittings, 5 washers, 13 22-caliber shell-casings, 1 38-caliber
shell-casing, a shotgun-shell, several pieces of plastic bags, about a
quarter cup of broken glass and a similar amount of broken plastic, a few
small pieces of fabric, 4 small stones, a metal bracket, a piece of wire,
and a few small pieces of rubber.

Fortunately, it did not appear that any of this remarkable collection of
detritus perforated the gut, and currently the chick appears to be doing
well.

Does this mean that all adult condors are attracted to ubiquitous shiny
objects and will bring them back to their nest for their chicks? Or does
this simply mean that male #21 and/or female #192 have this tendency? If the
first option is the case, then the species is clearly in deep trouble, since
these sorts of objects are virtually everywhere in a condor's environment.
If the second is the case - with this unfortunate chick simply having "idiot
parents" - then we should remain hopeful.

This E-bulletin is distributed as a joint effort between Swarovski
Optik of North America (SONA) and the National Wildlife Refuge Association
(NWRA).

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