Through support from donors, our conservation work helps guide future recovery efforts by actively combatting the most pressing threats to condor recovery. Ventana Wildlife Society not only rescues and cares for condors, but also works towards preventative solutions for condor recovery so that one day condors can fly free without human intervention.
Lead Poisoning
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Managing the lead threat is paramount to the full recovery of the California Condor population. Even after legislation banned the use of lead ammunition within the condor range, we documented cases of lead toxicosis in condors. For example, one condor died in 2012 after ingesting a .22-caliber lead bullet. This type of bullet is widely used to shoot ground squirrels and other non-game mammals. Despite the growing abundance of non-lead ammunition products for most hunting calibers, availability of non-lead .22 LR ammunition remained inconsistent years after the ban was enacted. We mitigate the lead threat by providing free non-lead ammunition, including .22 LR and other calibers that are difficult to find. We also monitor movement patterns of the flock to identify potential lead exposure sites, provide a lead-free supplemental food source, and facilitate treatment for condors discovered with symptoms of lead poisoning.
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Wildfire
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For condors, wildfires have provided some benefits. Condors use burned snags for roosting and fire-created cavities in large redwoods for nesting. But, as these fires demonstrate, condors may not always survive wildfires that catch them at the wrong time and place. Much like humans have difficulty escaping a house fire without a fire alarm to wake them, condors are especially at risk when wildfires sweep through their territories at night, when they are roosting and unlikely to fly. Yet, as devastating as some of these wildfires have been, lead poisoning remains the leading cause of fatalities and the greatest threat to condor recovery.
2020 - Dolan Fire
The Dolan Fire had the greatest impact of any wildfire on Ventana Wildlife Society and the local condor population. Just as we were celebrating the 100th condor in the central California population, the Dolan Fire took the lives of nine free-flying wild condors and two chicks that were in nests on that fateful night of August 20-21, 2020. Chicks in three other active nests in the path of the fire were spared, one by field crews who were able to access the nest in time to evacuate the chick. Another condor, while surviving the blaze initially, later died as a result of the wounds he suffered. Our facilities at the Big Sur Condor Sanctuary were not immune to the inferno, as they were also destroyed during the night. Thanks to the generous support of our members and donors, new and improved facilities are in the works with a projected completion date of Fall 2022.
Condors Lost to the Dolan Fire - “Kingpin” #167, “Survivor” #375, “Electra” #678, “Boreas” #773, “Arthur” #789, “Tonks” #875, Scabbers #901, #448, #9001, and #9003. Two chicks, #1022 (whose parents are #448, female #543) and #1029 (whose parents are McWay #567 and Loner #311) also perished in the fire. dolan fire timeline, 8/19/20-10/30/20
2016 - Sobranes fire
In 2016, an illegal campfire at Garrapata State Park started the Soberanes Fire, which burned over 130,000 acres from the Carmel region south into Los Padres National Forest and the Ventana Wilderness. Occurring north of the Big Sur Condor Sanctuary, no condors were lost as a result of the fire. 2008 - basin complex fire
The Basin Complex Fire was a massive wildfire near Big Sur that ignited on June 21, 2008, and was the result of a lightning strike. It eventually grew to 162,818 acres and claimed the lives of two wild condor chicks. |
Electrocution
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Powerline collisions and electrocutions have claimed the lives of several condors. The fog and winds typical of the Big Sur coast can elevate the threat by obscuring powerlines and limiting the ability of birds to navigate hazards. We consistently collaborate with Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E) to improve condor safety. In 2011, PG&E buried a high-risk powerline near the condor release site along the Big Sur coast, thereby eliminating a major threat. Then they retrofitted spans in other sensitive areas with insulated tree wire, reducing the risk of electrocution while increasing the visibility of the lines. We also drafted a risk assessment with PG&E to identify structures of relatively high risk, so the company can prioritize retrofits with a proactive approach.
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Micro-Trash
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Condors are always on the lookout for calcium to supplement their diet. In searching for natural forms of calcium, like small bones and sea shells, they might pick up small pieces of litter by mistake. Things like plastic, glass, or bottle caps. This "micro-trash", as we call it, can be especially harmful to their chicks if brought back to the nest. Most condor nests end up with a few items of micro-trash, and these usually do not harm the chick. However, in large amounts, micro-trash can potentially sicken or even kill condor chicks.
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Marine Contaminants
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Condors are sensitive to marine contaminants in the environment. We conducted research in collaboration with Robert Riseborough (The Bodega Bay Institute), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Santa Barbara Zoo, and the Los Angeles Zoo, and found that mean thickness of eggshell fragments in central California nests was 34% lower than the mean for interior southern California. We also found lower hatching success in central California. We concluded that eggshell thinning, characterized by a reduction or absence of the outer crystalline layer, was associated with marine contaminants, because condors in central California frequently scavenge marine mammal carcasses, whereas condors in interior southern California do not. We found that DDE, a metabolite of the infamous organochloride DDT, was the source of condor eggshell thinning based on the concentrations measured in our sample of failed eggs and the proximity of the Montrose Chemical Corporation DDT contamination site to seasonal sites used by marine mammal populations visiting the central California coast. We can help mitigate the threat by replacing thin-shelled eggs discovered in nests with normal eggs laid by condors in captivity
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