Condor soars back from the brink

[usregimechange]

Fast Facts
Height: Average of 50 inches.
Length: 3 ½ - 4 ½ feet (wingspan of about 9 feet).
Weight: 17-25 lbs; males larger than females.
Lifespan: Can live 45-80 years, but average about 60 years if conditions are right for their survival.

http://www.defenders.org/wildlife_and_habitat/wildlife/california_condor.php


Los Angeles (CNN) -- Almost 25 years after the California condor went extinct in the wild and dwindled to just 27 birds in captivity, North America's largest flying bird is on the verge of a watershed moment: Its total population is projected to hit 400 this spring, including 200 birds thriving in the wild later this year.

The projections come as curators are reporting a successful hatching season unfolding at breeding centers in California and elsewhere.

"At the end of the breeding season, we should be at 400 if all goes to projection," said Michael Mace, curator of birds at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. "At the end of this year, we could have 200 birds in the wild. Both would be significant milestones."

The 400 mark hasn't been seen since the 1920s or 1930s, Mace said. Right now, the condor population is 394, including 181 in the wild -- a marked improvement since 1987 when the condor was wiped out in the wild and only 27 lived at the San Diego Zoo, he said.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/04/26/california.condor/index.html?hpt=C1

[underseasurveyor]

1. These are the stories I love to hear.

I Love Love LOVE that these birds are on the come-back. I hope to see condors in the wild as regularly as I now see the osprey. What a tragic shame it would be to lose either of these fantastic birds.

Wow 400 California Condors :loveya:

[Withywindle]

2. Absolutely magical. K & R

They're such amazing creatures. My dream is to see one in the wild someday.

Fun fact: if you're on Facebook, you can friend "Theodore Condor" and get lots of great photos and regular updates on how they're doing in the Monterey/Big Sur area.

[Lisa0825]

4. Cool, thanks! :-) nt

[Hannah Bell]

3. kr

[cascadiance]

5. Now if we can only keep so many other animals from going extinct now!

It's empowering to see Condors starting their comeback, but we need to bring back the populations of the polar bear, etc. and a decent habitat for them to live in.

[Withywindle]

6. Totally agreed. But let's celebrate the victories we have, for now.

I grew up in a nature-geek family. I *remember* hearing about it when the last surviving wild condors were taken out of the wild, in the 80s - we were very upset about it. The whole bird community was. No one knew at the time if the desperate efforts to save the species by captive breeding would succeed or not.

I grew up reading wild bird guides, and the ones I had from the 60s and 70s always listed this magnificent bird as "virtually extinct"

To come back from fewer than 30 individuals existing in the universe, to having a viable and increasing wild population, as well as good numbers breeding in captivity...I'm verklempt, I totally am.

Humans are still their worst enemy. AC#8, the last CC to be trapped and brought in for the breeding program in 1987, was re-released into the wild in 2000. You can imagine how emotional that was!

http://www.fws.gov/cno/news/2000/2000-64.htm

Three years later, she'd been shot for no good reason.

http://articles.sfgate.com/2003-02-21/news/17478250_1_california-condor-ac-8-adult-condor