Critics of the conservation movement often complain that its a waste of time and effort to save species threatened with extinction--after all, extinction has been going on for millennia. It falls on
closed minds to reply that extinctions are increasing at an unnatural rate because of man and his exploitation of the planet. The California condor's
(Gymnogyps californianus) story is a successful one that proves conservation of a species does make a difference and can alter its fate. The bird was reduced to just 27 wild individuals when an intensive campaign of captive breeding began in 1987.
Once common to the entire west coast of North America, the vulture huddled on the edge of extinction in the central California mountains. By the 1990's the Fish & Wildlife Service released its first captive bred birds into a sanctuary north of Santa Barbara. Their release did not guarantee their survival; these birds suffered from the same plague as their extinct forebearers--lead shot. The scavengers would eat carcasses of animals shot by farmers, ranchers and hunters and die from lead poisoning. Since the release program began in 1992, 40% of the recorded birds have died by consuming lead. On July 1st, the state finally outlawed lead shot. The conservation effort has not been inexpensive; an estimated $2 million is spent each year on the conservation of condors. We have been rewarded for the investment as these majestic fliers, with wingspans of up to ten feet, are now gracing the Californian skies again.
Despite the setbacks, condors have reached a new milestone in their recovery. In the Ventana mountains the condor population is now over 100 with some 276 living in the wild southwestern US. The central California population has increased by 10% in just one year, aided by abundant food and new chicks coming out of the breeding program. The condor is very close to reaching its recovery goal set by the USF&W in 1996 of 150 in California and 150 in Arizona and Utah, with 15 nesting pairs in each region. When the species reaches that goal, there will be an effort to 'downlist' the bird from endangered to threatened. Just another example of how the Endangered Species Act works to protect wildlife from an early exit.
