California Condor. (2018, September 24). Retrieved from https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birds/c/california-condor/

The California Condor, as North America’s largest flying bird, has been a mysterious creature as long as it’s roamed this country. The California Condor’s brush with extinction had the scientific world in a flurry as only about 2-3 dozens of birds were left roaming the skies. The article hypothesized that “many birds died from poison ingestion and illegal egg collection”. Currently, because these birds don’t start reproducing until they’re 6 to 8 years old and have limited egg production once they reach said age, researchers have been collecting  and incubating these eggs to protect them from natural harm. Officially, conservation began in 1992 and since then has helped these birds repopulate mainly in areas of lower human population density.

The California condor’s reason for endangerment is rather depressing. Given that condors reside almost entirely off of already dead carcasses they often consume animals that have been shot by hunters. Condors are subsequently being subjected to lead poisoning from the ammunition left over by hunters. Even legal hunting of non-endangered animals can cause damage to ecosystems and poison the food supply. As some of north America’s largest flying birds it would truly be a shame for the California condors to be lost.