Poacher Shoots One Of The Last Original California Condors
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, working closely with the California Department of Fish and Game, is investigating the senseless shooting and killing of Adult Condor 8, one of the last California condors taken into captivity in the 1980s and a matriarch of the captive-breeding program.
AC-8 was found dead on February 13, and a subsequent necropsy determined that the bird died of gunshot. No arrests have been made.
One of only a few dozen endangered California condors in the wild, AC-8 was the last female condor captured in 1986 in a last-ditch effort to save the species from extinction.
She spent 14 years in captivity in the captive-breeding program and was the first of the original wild birds to be released in April 2000.
With the death of AC-8, only 79 birds remain in the wild. Another 118 are in captivity at the San Diego Wild Animal Park and the Los Angeles Zoo. AC-8 was believed to be more than 30 years old. She produced 12 offspring in captivity.
The bird’s carcass was recovered in a remote area of southern Kern County, California. The necropsy was conducted at the Service’s forensics laboratory in Ashland, Oregon.
The California condor is listed as an endangered species and is protected by both federal and California law. Violation of the Federal Endangered Species Act carries a maximum penalty of one year confinement and a fine of $100,000.
“We will not let the tragic death of AC-8 slow the forward momentum of condor recovery,” said Marc Weitzel, project leader of the Hopper Mountain National Wildlife Refuge Complex and the California Condor Recovery Program. “AC-8’s legacy will carry on. Condors are exhibiting breeding behavior in the California and Arizona populations and we fully anticipate wild-born condors again in the near future.”
Anyone with information regarding the shooting of AC-8 is encouraged to call the Service’s Office of Law Enforcement at 916/414-6664. The Service will pay a substantial reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons involved. The amount of the award will be determined by the value to the investigation of the information provided.
Those with information can also call the Department of Fish and Game’s CalTIP Program line at 1-888-DFG-CALTIP.
The Service’s California Condor Recovery Program is a multi-entity effort to recover the endangered species. Partners include the U.S. Forest Service, San Diego Wild Animal Park, Los Angeles Zoo, California Department of Fish and Game, the Peregrine Fund, and Ventana Wilderness Sanctuary.
The newest Mexican partners include the Center for Scientific Investigation and Graduate Studies in Ensenada and La Secretaria de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales.
Beginning in 1992, the Service began reintroducing captive-bred condors to the wild. Birds have been released near the Grand Canyon in Arizona, in the Ventana Wilderness and the Hopper Mountain National Wildlife Refuge Complex in California, and — most recently — in Baja California, Mexico.
Provided by theEnvironmental News Service.
