The California Condor
Will this bird soar once again?
The California Condor
California Condor's Food Chain
California Condor and the Cliff
This California Condor is resting on a cliff.
California Condor Over the Water
A picture of the California Condor over the water.
Condors Mating in the Sky
The birds are mating.
California Condor's Habitat
How California Condors Adapt
Since California Condors were scavengers, many people usually thought them disgusting. The truth was the opposite, however.
California Condors have to be tidy and have a good immune system. To clean themselves, the condors cleaned their head by rubbing on grass, rocks, or branches. They also bathe often and spend time working on their feathers. To fight against the disease, the California Condors have an effective immune system, so that they don't get sick from eating carcasses, which might containing any disease-causing agents such as bacteria.
The California Condors perfer to stay in pairs and mate for life. They only breed every other year, and usually give birth to two eggs in February and March. The eggs hatched 54 to 58 years later.
Condor in the Sky
The California Condor is soaring.
California Condor over the Water
Another image of a bird flying over the water.
The Condor Eating Carcass
You heard it right, carcass!
Critical Information
The bird that was once widespread in North America, was now confined to California, Arizona, and Mexico, of today. How and why did this happen?
The population decline might have done to it. But it is not simple. Shooting, lead poisoning, and persecution were the threats to the California Condors today. Back in the early 1900s, the California Condor's population declines drastically, because of those reasons. Beside those threats, power lines also do some dents to the California Condor's population. In late 1900s the birds were recognized as one of the endangered. Then, in 1980, when the condor population have dropped to an all time low of 22 birds, the government finally took action. All remaining 6 Califorinia Condors were held in captivity in 1987 until its reintroduction to the wild in 1992. An intensive conservation action followed, raising its population to 213 wild indivituals, as of 2012. Laws were enacted to protect the endangered species, such as the law that bans firearms in national parks. A proposed action would moniter the bird population and extent, as well as the continuation of releasing captive birds into the wild.
So far, in spite of all efforts, it looks like the mortality rate for the condors are still higher than sustainable level. This would change in the future.