Birds & Science

Endangered California Condor Chicks Hatch in the Wild

19 Jul 07 - Biologists recently confirmed a new condor chick produced in the wild by captive-bred California Condors at Vermilion Cliffs National Monument. They believe another chick is likely in the Grand Canyon. See Full Story…

Scientists Agree Lead Ammunition Major Problem for Condor

Audubon California, Defenders of Wildlife, and Ventana Wildlife Society issued a joint press release on July 11th highlighting a Statement of Scientific Agreement (read the agreement). A large group of prominent scientists and condor biologists all agreed that science links lead ammunition to lead poisoning in California Condors. The press release highlighted the importance of a broad coalition of scientists back the science supporting the conclusion that lead ammunition should be banned in condor country.

Audubon Arizona Policy and Science Committee Resolution

Audubon Arizona is a partner organization in the efforts to restore California Condor in Arizona. Audubon Arizona will cooperate with partners, primarily the Arizona Game and Fish Department, Peregrine Fund, Audubon California, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to disseminate information about Condor lead ingestion and the need to remove lead ammunition from the environment.

In northern Arizona, condors are located primarily near the Vermilion cliffs and Grand Canyon. The Marble Canyon Important Bird Area is being considered for global designation based upon the importance of the canyon to condors. California condors are one of the most endangered birds in the world. They were placed on the federal endangered species list in 1967. In Arizona, reintroduction was conducted under a special provision of the Endangered Species Act that allows for the designation of a nonessential experimental population. Under this designation (referred to as the 10(j) rule) the protections for an endangered species are relaxed, providing greater flexibility for management of a reintroduction program.

Data from a variety of field and laboratory studies have identified lead poisoning from gun-killed animals as the primary impediment to the establishment of a self-sustaining condor population. The Arizona Game and Fish Department responded in the spirit of its long-recognized excellence in conservation by instituting a voluntary non-lead bullet program for hunters in the condors’ range in Arizona. Exposure to lead is one factor affecting the success of the California condor (Gymnogyps californianus) reintroduction program in Arizona. There have been 176 documented cases of lead exposure and 66 chelation treatments administered since 1999 and 29 condors have died since 1996. The leading cause of death is lead toxicity, with six confirmed cases. (Sullivan, Sieg and Parish. 2006. in Press.) The Arizona Game and Fish Department (AGFD) and its partners are working to reduce lead exposure due to spent lead ammunition found in animal carcasses and gut piles through the tools of public education, scientific research, and voluntary use of non-lead ammunition.

Based on a consensus among project cooperators Arizona has focused on voluntary measures to reduce the amount of lead available to condors in the wild. Unlike releases in California, condors in Arizona are released under the 10(j) rule of the Endangered Species Act, which limits laws altering current land management practices (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 1996).

The AGFD encouraged the formation of a Condor Coalition composed of sportsmen’s groups and government agencies supporting voluntary efforts to reduce the amount of lead available to condors. As of 31 December 2005, Condor Coalition members included the Arizona Antelope Foundation, Arizona Deer Association, Arizona Desert Bighorn Sheep Society, Arizona Game and Fish Department, Boone & Crockett Club, California Chapter of the Foundation of North American Wild Sheep, California Deer Hunters Association, California Department of Fish and Game, International Hunter Education Association, National Shooting Sports Foundation, North American Grouse Partnership, Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers’ Institute, US Fish and Wildlife Service, and Wildlife Management Institute. The Coalition is currently funding an educational web page.

Arizona non-lead ammunition program- The AGFD, using money from the Heritage Fund, administered a free non-lead ammunition program for the fall 2005 and 2006 hunting seasons. AGFD partnered with Cabela’s, Sportsman’s Warehouse, and Federal Ammunition to offer two free boxes of non-lead ammunition to 2,393 deer and bighorn sheep rifle hunters drawn for hunts in Game Management Units 12A and 12B (areas located within the core condor foraging range). The program is going to continue in 2007 and hunters will be given an informational DVD that will include current information about lead fragmentation.

SULLIVAN, K., R. SIEG, and C. PARISH. In Press. Arizona’s Efforts to Reduce Lead Exposure in California Condors. (Accepted pre-publication draft (2006), In: California Condors in the 21st Century (A. Mee, L.S. Hall, and J. Grantham, Eds.) Special Publication of the American Ornithologists’ Union and Nuttall Ornithological Club.

Arizona Game and Fish Department Condor Web Site

VIDEO California Condors in Arizona

Peregrine Fund

Project Gutpile

US Fish & Wildlife Service California Condor Web Site

Fish & Wildlife Service Condor Web Links

ESRP Natural history profile of the California Condor

• Carcasses and gut piles from hunters provide an invaluable food resource to condors throughout their range.
• Lead ammunition is highly toxic to California Condors and at least 48 other species, including Bald and Golden eagles.
• Lead fragments are difficult to completely remove from game, posing health risks to hunters and their families eating game. Several studies have found elevated levels of lead in the blood of groups eating game.
• Lead alternatives, such as copper, have similar performance qualities.

Ventana Wildlife Society

Barnes

Project Gutpile

Arizona Game & Fish

Lead Contamination Sources in California Condors

Lead ammunition as principal source in condors

Human lead blood levels in Quebec

Lead sources in human diet in Greenland

More human lead blood

Lead in game birds

Fewer fragments in game killed with copper ammunition