News & Media

State of Utah
Department of Natural Resources
Division of Wildlife Resources

CONTACT
Bill Heinrich, The Peregrine Fund (208) 362-3716, cell (208) 890-0163
Debbie Freeman, Arizona Game and Fish Department (602) 789-3215
Jeff Humphrey, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (602) 242-0524 x 222
Keith Day, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (NEED PHONE NUMBER)
Linda Price, Bureau of Land Management Vermilion Cliffs (435) 688-3241
Maureen Oltrogge, Grand Canyon National Park (928) 638-7779
Aimee Yamamori, Phoenix Zoo (602) 273-1341 ext.7422

NEWS RELEASE
For immediate release July 24, 2006
 

Endangered California Condor recovered and released
after cooperating agencies rallied to save it
 

VERMILION CLIFFS, Ariz.– Nearly five months after exposure to lead and resulting poisoning, Condor 134 has made a full and complete recovery and has been re-released into the wild.

As soon as intense behavioral observations made by The Peregrine Fund biologists confirmed there was a problem with an adult condor in the western reaches of the Grand Canyon, nearly every cooperating agency responded to get the sick bird to the Phoenix Zoo for examination and treatment. On February 17, that the same morning that the decision was made to trap the condor, the Grand Canyon Helitack crew with two Peregrine Fund biologists flew in to recover the bird. Another cooperator, the Arizona Game and Fish Department, quickly responded and flew the bird by fixed-wing aircraft to Dr. Kathy Orr and the ACC hospital staff at the Phoenix Zoo.

Following the condor’s arrival, Dr Orr determined Condor 134 was critically ill due to exposure to lead. The bird had elevated blood lead levels, was thin, dehydrated, unable to stand on its own, and was unable to swallow its food. The animal required several surgeries to have a tube placed in the stomach in order to feed it a liquid diet 4 to 5 times a day. It was treated with numerous drugs, including one that would eliminate the lead from his body. He even received a blood transfusion from another California condor housed in the breeding complex at the San Diego Wild Animal Park. After being at the Phoenix Zoo for a little over a month, he was finally able to finally stand on his own. At the end of May, after three and a half months of recovery, the bird went back to Paria Plateau to a large fight cage. There he got the exercise he needed to be strong enough to be re-released to the wild.

On July 21, cooperating biologists from the Peregrine Fund and staff from the Phoenix Zoo witnessed the success of all their hard work as Condor 134 was released on the Vermilion Cliffs to fly free once again in the northern Arizona skies. After the release of this magnificent bird, Dr. Kathy Orr, Staff Veterinarian at the Phoenix Zoo exclaimed, “It warms my heart to see the efforts of so many dedicated people from several different organizations rally to save this one precious life. After being involved with the Arizona California Condor Program for nine years, I still get goose bumps seeing these birds flying free above the Grand Canyon.”

As Condor 134 slowly improved, a second male bird - Condor 122 - was transported to the Phoenix Zoo with similar signs of lead toxicity. After successfully recovering by receiving the same treatment, it was also transported back to the holding pens atop the Paria Plateau. It is hoped that he will also soon be able to be re-released .

Regular updates from the field on all of the California Condor activities in the Southwest are provided on the Notes from the Field section of The Peregrine Fund’s website at www.peregrinefund.org.

In 1982, only 22 California condors were left in the world. Efforts to capture and breed those birds have been successful. Condors are now released throughout the year at the Vermilion Cliffs National Monument site. 60 condors currently fly free in Arizona, and a nearly 300 California condors are in existence, including free-flying birds in Arizona, California and Baja California, as well as captive birds in Idaho, California and Oregon.

California condors have been federally listed as endangered since 1967. As North America’s largest flighted birds, they have a wingspan of 9 1/2 feet and can weigh between 18 and 22 pounds.

The condor reintroduction project in Arizona is a joint program with many contributing partners, including The Peregrine Fund, Arizona Game and Fish Department, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, Kaibab National Forest, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, Southern Utah’s Coalition of Resources and Economics, and numerous other partners.

The California condors are being released as a “non-essential/experimental population” under section 10(j) of the Endangered Species Act. Section 10(j) provides that the species can be released in an area without impacting current or future land use planning. This authority has been spelled out further in an innovative agreement between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and local governments. This “Implementation Agreement” outlines a positive working relationship between the federal government and the various local governments.