1. California Condor

2. California Condor Stats
Wingspan: 91/2 Feet
Weight: 25 pounds
Food: large dead animals
Travel: 150 miles a day
Soar: up to 50 miles an hour
Long Lived: 60 years
Habitat: cliffs, ledges, forests, & large open grasslands
Pleistocene: condor found throughout North America
Mating: for life
Fledge: 5-6 months
Sexually mature: 5 years of age
Reproduction: single egg every other year
Dependent on parent for 1-2 years
Dimorphism: same for adults - young all black to age of 3-4yrs

3. Reasons for Reduced Populations
Food Resources: large game
Settling of the west
Shooting
Poisoning from lead and DDT
Egg collecting
Habitat degradation
Population: dwindled to just 22 birds
Captive breeding
Reintroduction of captive bred birds began in 1992 in California & in 1996 in Arizona.

4. Recovery Plan 1. Placed on the federal endangered species list in 1967
2. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service began a captive breeding program in 1980
3. In 1987, a controversial decision was made to bring all remaining condors (22 individuals) into captivity
4. Captive bred condors released into the wild 1992
5. Double clutching
6. Puppetry
7. Soft Release - hacking

5. Recovery Efforts

6. Losses Shootings $150.00, 2K, 20K and community service
Collisions with power lines
Electrocution
Anti Freeze
Lead Poisoning
Fire

7. Program Goals To be downlisted from Endangered to Threatened
Maintenance of at least 2 wild populations
Maintenance of one captive population
Each population must:
number at least 150 individuals
must contain at least 15 breeding pairs
be reproductively self sustaining
have a positive rate of population growth
Non-captive populations must:
be spatially disjunct and non-interacting
contain descendents from each of the 14 founders

8. Population Condor Numbers (updated 12/5/07) Total population 300
Captive population 142
Wild population 158
Arizona population 63
California population 80
Baja population 15

9. Arguments Against Intrusion into nature Property Rights Cost
A risk that might speed the birds demise

10. Power Pole Aversion Training

11. Whooping Crane
Estimated that between 500 and 1,400 whooping cranes inhabited North America in 1870
Collisions from power lines
illegal shooting for meat and sport
Avian tuberculosis, avian cholera, and lead poisoning
Due to their long migration route, whooping cranes also are vulnerable to natural disasters such as hail storms or draught.
The Crane's delayed breeding maturity and small clutch size make the population slow to recover

12. Fly-Away Home