301 (154 in the wild)
301
Endangered
Since the implementation of the captive breeding program in the 1980s, California Condor numbers have slowly increased. Birds are released to the wild annually, and several pairs have managed to breed successfully at a handful of sites. The small population of California Condors living today exists only due to the efforts of the Condor Recovery Program, and its continued survival still depends on the success of the captive breeding and reintroduction programs.
The California Condor, which may live up to 60 years, has few natural predators. The Golden Eagle is the species' chief competitor for food and also poses a threat to condor chicks and eggs. Ravens, black bears and other mammals are potential egg predators as well. Prior to its clash with European settlers, the condor's lack of predators resulted in a low mortality rate. Unfortunately for present-day condors, a low mortality rate often correlates with an equally low rate of reproduction; this is certainly the case with the California Condor. It takes these condors 6 to 8 years to reach sexual maturity, and even after maturity, they generally do not breed every year. The arrival of humans drastically increased mortality rates for the species, but the eons-old rate at which it could replenish its numbers did not change. By 1981, the global population had been reduced to just 22 birds.
The variety of threats faced by condors over the past one and a half centuries has included collection by Native Americans, shooting by later settlers, collisions with power lines and other man-made structures, and incidental poisoning (especially from coyote control programs). Today, the main threat posed to North America's largest bird is lead poisoning. Condors ingest this toxin when they feed on animal carcasses containing lead bullets and are subsequently poisoned.
Immense efforts have been undertaken to save the California Condor from extinction. A number of groups played parts in the conservation planning and monitoring efforts for this species, including the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Forest Service, the California Department of Fish and Game, the National Audubon Society, the Bureau of Land Management, and others. A captive breeding program was initiated at the San Diego Wild Animal Park, the Los Angeles Zoo, and later, The Peregrine Fund's World Center for Birds of Prey. Because of continued losses, all remaining wild condors were captured in 1985 and brought to these institutions. The program eventually increased the condor's numbers to levels where reintroduction was possible. Initial reintroductions met with a variety of problems including mortality from lead poisoning, collision with power lines, and behavioral problems. Despite efforts to prevent condor chicks from imprinting on their human handlers (including the use of condor-like puppets to feed the chicks), the first groups of birds released in California were attracted to humans and human-made structures. Subsequent changes in the rearing practices of the chicks (including conditioning classes to teach chicks to avoid human structures) may prevent these behavioral problems in the future.
1996 marked the first year that California Condors were reintroduced to northern Arizona. The Arizona recovery program has enjoyed some success in recent years, with at least six wild-hatched chicks confirmed from Vermilion Cliffs National Monument and the Grand Canyon area as of 2006. Condors continue to be released from Vermilion Cliffs – releases are well publicized, and the public is invited to attend.
Since the successful 2002 nesting in Ventura County, California, condors have nested at Hooper Mountain in the south and further north at Big Sur. The most recent success was the first chick from Baja California. This chick hatched in an old eagle nest atop a cliff in the Sierra San Pedro de Martir National Park.
As of June 2007, the global California Condor population numbered 306 birds. Of these, 57 wild birds resided in Arizona, 74 in California, and 16 in Baja California. An additional 24 birds were in various holding pens, awaiting release. The captive population numbered 135 birds with birds located at the World Center for Birds of Prey (Boise, Idaho), San Diego Wild Animal Park, the Oregon Zoo (Portland, OR), the Los Angeles Zoo, and the Chapultepec Zoo (Mexico City).
The California Condor is protected under the Endangered Species Act. Audubon continues to work to ensure that this vital legislation is being used to protect our wildlife resources. Learn of the latest news about the Endangered Species Act and how you can help on
Audubon's Issues & Action web pages.
Hunters can help condors, waterfowl, and a variety of other wildlife by avoiding lead-based bullets. The U.S. Army has recently started using bullets made with tungsten-tin and tungsten-nylon cores, rather than lead. If you hunt, use lead-free ammunition! Since 2005, the Arizona Game and Fish Department has offered a free non-lead ammunition program in an attempt to reduce lead exposure to wild condors. Hunters have responded well. If you hunt within California Condor range, or would like to learn more about condors and lead poisoning, see the website of the Arizona Game and Fish Department. In California in 2007, the legislature passed and the governor signed a bill to ban the use of lead bullets in condor range.
If you should observe a condor please report your sighting to The Peregrine Fund biologists at (520) 355-2270 or via e-mail at cparish@peregrinefund.org. Helpful information would include date, time, location, number of birds observed, and wing tag numbers.
Find out about
actions you can take including Audubon programs and activities.
Learn more about other species protected under the
Endangered Species Act.
To learn more about California Condors, including the latest seasonal updates, visit
The Peregrine Fund Website.
Learn more about the efforts of
Audubon's Important Bird Areas program in California.
Learn more about this species and other birds through
these resources.
BirdLife International (2006)
Species factsheet: Gymnogyps californianus, California Condor
Snyder, Noel F R. and Schmitt, N. John. 2002. California Condor (Gymnogyps californianus). In
The Birds of North America, No. 610 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). Philadelphia: The Academy of Natural Sciences; Washington, D.C.: The American Ornithologists' Union; and Ithaca: Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology.
The Peregrine Fund World Center For Birds of Prey.
http://www.peregrinefund.org. Website accessed August 2007.
