Most people probably aren鈥檛 thinking about vultures.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 notice they鈥檙e there, but we would notice if they weren鈥檛,鈥� said Travis Koons, animal curator at the Oregon Zoo.
Known for their scavenging tendencies and bald, fleshy heads, vulture species such as California condors are much more than ugly birds, Koons said.
Vultures are like the friend who finishes off that last bit of food you鈥檙e too full to eat. They鈥檙e akin to street-sweepers, cleaning up remnant animal carcasses that others leave behind. Without them, there would be higher rates of disease, bugs and other undesirables, according to Koons.
California condors have made a remarkable comeback from the brink of extinction, thanks in part to efforts at the Oregon Zoo. But recently proposed changes to the Endangered Species Act (ESA) could have dire consequences for nature鈥檚 master recyclers.
Originally created to protect threatened and endangered plants, animals and their habitats, the ESA has been recognized as the nation鈥檚 strongest conservation law. In July, the Trump administration proposed changes to the ESA that would make it harder to protect new species and easier to remove protections 鈥� or delist 鈥� species that are currently protected, like condors.
鈥淥ne thing we heard over and over again was that ESA implementation was not consistent and often times very confusing to navigate,鈥� said U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Principal Deputy Director Greg Sheehan. 鈥淲e are proposing these improvements to produce the best conservation results for the species while reducing the regulatory burden on the American people.鈥�
Proposed changes would allow potential into the equation when determining protections for plants and animals. Currently, the decision is based solely on scientific research. Threatened species would no longer be the same protections as endangered species and critical habitats could shrink, among other things.
鈥淭he proposed changes would reduce regulatory protections and our influence over endangered species management,鈥� said Dr. Donald Moore, director of the Oregon Zoo. 鈥淚t might significantly decrease the condor鈥檚 survival as a species.鈥�
The California condors' range once extended from British Columbia, all along the Pacific Coast and down to Baja California.
According to U.S. Fish and Wildlife records, only in the world by 1982. By 1987, all remaining wild condors were placed in a captive breeding program as a last-ditch recovery effort.
It worked.
The first birds were reintroduced into the wild in 1992. As of 2017, global California condor counts were up to more than , both wild and captive. That was a 6.4 percent increase from 2016.
The Oregon Zoo boasts the second-largest condor program in the country, housing one-tenth of the world鈥檚 California condor population, according to Moore.
He credits the species鈥� recovery to protections from ESA.
鈥淲e鈥檝e been working really hard on producing condors and reintroducing them,鈥� Moore said. 鈥淎ny proposed changes that would weaken the act would weaken our ability to keep animals from going extinct.鈥�
One big threat to condor recovery: When the current head of the Interior Department, Ryan Zinke, took office, one of his first acts in office was to rescind an Obama administration regulation that .
Lead has been the greatest cause of wild population mortality, resulting in approximately of known causes of death since 1992, according to a USFWS report. To remedy this, educational programs such as the Hunting With Non-Lead initiative have been created to educate the public, particularly hunters, on the lethal effects on wildlife from lead ammunition.
鈥淟ead exposure has been identified as the leading cause in mortality in free-flying juvenile and adult condors,鈥� said Leland Brown the non-lead hunting education coordinator for the Oregon Zoo. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not visible to hunters 鈥� so they鈥檙e unaware that it鈥檚 happening.鈥�
When a lead bullet enters an animal, toxic fragments spread through the wound channel 鈥� leaving fragments of lead in the carcass. when feasting on the animal remnants leading to lead poisoning.
Although polls show that of Americans support the Endangered Species Act, its efficacy is debated. According to the , between 1973 to 2013, the act prevented extinction for 99 percent of species under its protection. But critics argue inefficiency, saying only of species protected by the ESA have recovered enough for delisting.
California condors were one of the very under the ESA.
鈥淐ondors are one of the most successful species of that program and it鈥檚 a direct result of that attention and awareness,鈥� Koons said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 pretty critical that we reverse this way we鈥檙e headed.鈥�
Since 2004, 51 condors have been reared at the Oregon Zoo and released into the wild, according to Koons. Six more will be released Sept. 22 in Arizona. But without ESA protections and funding, condors would likely cease to exist. 鈥淭hey鈥檇 be a doomed species,鈥� Koons said.
Koons鈥� goal is to see condors flying over Oregon skies within the next five to ten years.
鈥淚n my lifetime, I want to go all the way up to Astoria and see condors flying where they used to be.鈥�
Public comments on the proposed changes to the ESA are accepted until .
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Miranda Daviduk
/The entrance to the condor exhibit at the Oregon Zoo. The zoo has 38 condors 鈥� three on exhibit and the remainder in the Jonsson Center for Wildlife Conservation in Clackamas County.
Miranda Daviduk
/The Oregon Zoo is home to one-tenth of the world's population of California condors. This one is named Kaweah.
Miranda Daviduk
/A ballistics gel shows toxic fragments from a lead bullet. Lead poisoning is the leading cause of condor mortality. The Oregon Zoo participates in a non-lead hunting initiative to inform hunters of the dangers of lead ammunition and provide information on alternatives, like copper.
Miranda Daviduk
/California condors have bald, fleshy heads to stay clean when they eat 鈥� usually a dead animal carcass.