The wild population of condors is slowly growing but is still imperiled by the potential for lead poisoning, not to mention the microtrash described previously. Appropriately imprinted condors, released using this technique, have succeeded in the wild, finding nesting sites, food, and mates. This process minimizes human contact and disturbance of the bird, but makes the timing of actual releases unpredictable. Condor releases employ a double trap-door technique, in which a caged condor is given the opportunity to move into a second enclosure when it does, a door closes behind it and a release door opens, so it can then fly, if motivated to do so. Chicks are initially hand fed, using the puppets, and as they grow are visually imprinted on adult condors. Great care is used in the captive rearing program, through the use of feeding puppets, to imprint condor chicks on appropriate cues. The major behavioral issues in the capture-and-release program have been concerned with imprinting of species recognition. A California condor in a breeding and release program. As harbingers of the One Health message, veterinarians in the condor program have also contributed much to the larger world picture.įigure 15.23. The huge strides in educating the public about the debilitating toxicity of lead poisoning in California condors has also indicated an increasing concern about the effect of this metal in our own species. On an even larger scale, the AOU report has described condors as “the canaries in the coal mine” in their habitat in North America, referring specifically to lead. The intensive veterinary nest management program in the wild in California would no doubt be much less successful without veterinarians who did not have extensive experience and expertise with condor chicks in captivity. Many techniques and learning what is normal, especially in regard to chick development, have been tried on birds in captivity and then applied to birds in the wild-often in extreme conditions. Additionally, providing veterinary care to this species is an excellent example of the increasingly blurred line between zoo and wildlife medicine. From a veterinary standpoint, they are rewarding patients, often allowing us to push the envelope in avian care, with positive outcomes. They are extremely strong birds that tolerate severe disease processes, toxicity, trauma, and invasive and prolonged treatment. It cannot be stated more emphatically that California condors are the toughest of patients. As the veterinary part of this effort, we continue to soldier on to bring the California condor to a place of full recovery where our drastic interventions are no longer needed.Ĭynthia Stringfield, in Fowler's Zoo and Wild Animal Medicine, 2012 Conclusions The people of this incredible program will continue to stand on the shoulders of our predecessors, just as the birds alive now stand on the wings of the dead condors before them. We wondered how we could give up when our species caused the decline of this magnificent creature that has been here since the Pleistocene, and who is certainly not giving up. Many determined and dedicated people have fought as hard as the condors themselves, not giving up when others said it was impossible or too expensive. The veterinary problems this species has suffered have been extreme, and without conquering them, recovery could not have occurred. As the program grew because of success, it also became extremely complex, with debates among individuals and organizations commonplace. This program taught me the definition of success through teamwork and true scientific collaboration. In addition, 202 birds are in captivity, and the populations continue to increase, now with second-generation wild birds fledging. At this writing (data from the end of August 2014), 232 birds currently fly in the wild: 130 in California 29 in Baja, California and 73 in Arizona/Utah. The California Condor Recovery Plan, written by the California Condor Recovery Team, states that before reclassification to threatened status can occur, three disjunct populations of California condors are needed, numbering at least 150 birds each: two in the wild and one in captivity, and each population should have approximately 15 breeding pairs and have a positive rate of increase. The California condor is currently classified as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List. Stringfield, in Current Therapy in Avian Medicine and Surgery, 2016 Looking back, and the future
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