"After reviewing nearly 20 years of our mortality data on the free-ranging birds, it became clear that lead poisoning is the primary problem for the birds in the wild. And this is not just a problem for California condors. We can view them as an indicator species, warning us about the hazards of widespread lead contamination in the environment." said Bruce Rideout, director of the wildlife disease laboratories for San Diego Zoo Global.
Bringing species back from the brink of extinction is extremely difficult, and conservation efforts are not easy. This species has had great success in regaining numbers thus far, and hopefully California officials will recognize this problem sooner rather than later.
Do you want to help? Click here to learn about 'Condor Watch'.
This is a new web site aimed towards enlisting the help of citizen scientists in hopes of gaining data/research that may help reduce lead poisoning in Condor's. Condor Watch asks volunteers to look at photos of condors taken by motion-activated cameras at sites where condors are fed as part of regular management activities. By identifying the tag number of each condor and describing its behavior, citizen scientists will help researchers understand condor social networks and other factors that may be related to lead poisoning.
Photo Credit: ScienceDaily.com