The condor was discovered in early January in a remote part of Redwood National Park.
The bird, known as B7 or Pey-noh-pey-o-wok' in the Yurok language, was brought to the forensics laboratory of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Ashland for analysis. The bird was found to have ingested a lead airgun pellet and had high concentrations of lead in its liver and bones.
This bird is one of just 18 released in Northern California as part of a restoration program run by the Yurok Tribe. Program Manager Chris West said that, like other condor release programs, it was almost inevitable that a bird would die from lead poisoning.
鈥淯nfortunately, that's the reality of conservation and recovery in the condor world is this constant struggle against lead toxicosis,鈥� said West. 鈥淎nd until we can really get a hold of this and get a handle on reducing deaths from lead, condor recovery is going to be somewhat elusive.鈥�
Lead poisoning poses the single greatest threat to California condors. Even a small amount of lead can be fatal to a condor or other birds, such as vultures and eagles. , half of the known condor deaths in California between 1992 and 2020 were due to lead poisoning.
Despite a ban on lead ammunition for hunting in California, the bullets still find their way into dead animals, especially from poachers. Pellet guns are exempt because, technically, they鈥檙e not firearms.
West said they don鈥檛 know the source of this pellet.
鈥淏ased on my assessment of the GPS locations where the bird had spent time, he had gone to the roadway along Bald Hills Road a couple of times and landed right on the edge of the road and spent time there,鈥� said West. 鈥淪o it's certainly possible that someone was varmint shooting or ground squirrels or something like that.鈥�
West said just two of the birds are left from the 14 he worked with in his first year doing California condor recovery more than two decades ago. The majority of them died from lead poisoning.
West said he feels worse for the rest of his team, who might be dealing with their first condor death. This condor was only 18 months old and was only out in the wild for three months before its death.
The recovery program has faced multiple lead poisoning incidents since the birds were released in 2022. Luckily, in the other cases, the birds were found and captured quickly enough that they could be treated.
Despite the death, West said they have to keep moving forward. There are still 17 condors in the wild, and they hope to release more later this year.
