On a Saturday morning, a small crowd gathers at
Arizona’s House Rock Valley, gazing up at big black birds that
glide on the thermals. The California condor has returned to canyon
country.
The last time anyone saw the giant
cousin of the turkey vulture in this region was almost 70 years
ago. The species nearly vanished completely, as wanton shooting and
poisoning drove it to the brink of extinction early in this
century.
Since December, the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, with help from the Bureau of Land Management,
Arizona Fish and Game Department and the Peregrine Fund, has
released 15 of the birds on the Vermillion Cliffs, north of the
Grand Canyon.
“It’s pretty exciting,” says Bill
Heinrich, a Peregrine Fund biologist who has helped with the
reintroduction effort. “These things can fly 30, 40, 50 miles in
less than an hour almost effortlessly.” One adventurous bird, known
as “Number 36,” has wandered as far as the Grand Canyon and Lake
Powell.
The condors, fledged in the Los Angeles
Zoo, feed on dead calves provided by biologists, but they’re
learning to find food on their own, according to condor coordinator
Robert Mesta. So far, two condors have died – one was killed by a
golden eagle in January, and the second ran into powerlines in
May.
Despite early opposition to the
reintroduction, Mesta says locals now realize that the condors’
endangered status doesn’t threaten their livelihoods (HCN, 8/5/96).
“People are extremely supportive,” says Mesta. “They’ve pretty much
embraced the program.” A Utah court dismissed a lawsuit filed by
San Juan County that would have stalled reintroduction
efforts.
If all goes as planned, five to eight
more birds will join the growing flock on the Vermillion Cliffs
this fall.
For more information, call Robert
Mesta at 805/ 644-1766, or check out the Peregrine Fund’s home
page, http://www.peregrinefund.org.
*Greg
Hanscom
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Condors soar once more over the Southwest.
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
