Condor 336 hatched at the San Diego Zoo’s Wild Animal Park in April 2004. She was released at Pinnacles National Monument three years ago. On Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2008 biologists with the Ventana Wildlife Society were monitoring the condors in Big Sur, California. Immediately they knew something was wrong with No. 336. Over the course of three days they attempted to catch the bird to perform a health evaluation. On Sept. 5, in cooperation with the National Parks Service, a Ventana biologist caught the condor. She was rushed for veterinary care in Monterey and later transported to the Los Angeles Zoo where veterinarians have successfully treated condors for lead poisoning.

A few days later condor 336 died. The bird had already been underweight by the time she was caught. Her health had been compromised badly and she was not able to recover despite the heroic efforts of the biologists and veterinarians. Her death is not a loss for the California Condor Recovery Program. It is a loss for Californians and for North America.

The California condor is North America’s largest bird. This species was found from British Columbia to Baja California, Mexico when pioneers arrived on our shores. The birds began to loose ground quickly. The population dwindled to approximately 20 birds in the 1980s, but thanks to the efforts of conservationists and biologists the number has increased to more than 300 birds today. For this reason the loss of one bird hurts the efforts of this species’ recovery, but it should also affect us. We’ve made every effort to recover the California condor so let’s protect it and help reduce problems like lead poisoning from our environment.

To learn more about how lead poisoning affects the condor, click here.

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“The Ventana Wildlife Society is one of our partners in the conservation of the California condor,” said Michael Mace, Wild Animal Park curator of birds. “To date, the San Diego Zoo’s Wild Animal Park has sent 34 condors for release to the condor sanctuary in Big Sur. Ventana’s success is as important as our success in reestablishing this critically endangered species in California.”

Two condors were lost and are presumed dead after a June wildfire burned for more than a month through Big Sur, California, where the Ventana Wildlife Society operates its condor sanctuary. Two birds have not been located since the fires began in June, including condor No. 278, a male that hatched at the Wild Animal Park.

“It’s hard to put a value on the loss of a 6-year-old male that was about to breed and an up and coming female,” said Joe Burnett, Ventana Wildlife Society senior wildlife biologist. “It’s devastating to lose any birds. We can rebuild the pens, but we cant replace the birds.”

Big Sur is home to more than 40 wild condors, including mature condors that are now breeding in the wild. Three condor nests are within the burned area. Ventana Wildlife Society biologists entered two of the three nests, finding the chicks alive and healthy this week. The biologists suspect the third chick is also alive after observing the parents continuously returning to the nest. Unfortunately the fires aftermath created conditions that prevent the biologists from entering this nest.

The $10,000 donation from the San Diego Zoo will help replace equipment and supplies so that field biologists in Big Sur can continue to track the free-flying condors and monitor the nests. Contributions from individuals to the San Diego Zoo’s California Condor Relief Effort will help offset the Zoo’s donation and can be made by visiting the Zoo’s California Condor Conservation Website at www.cacondorconservation.org .

“Our whole goal is to get up and running without delay in our efforts to return the condor back into the wild so that it is once again self-sustaining,” said Kelly Sorenson, Ventana Wildlife Society executive director. “The Zoological Society of San Diego is playing a big part in helping us get back up and running.”

The 1,800-acre San Diego Zoo’s Wild Animal Park (more than half of which has been set aside as protected native species habitat) is operated by the not-for-profit Zoological Society of San Diego. The Zoological Society, dedicated to the conservation of endangered species and their habitats, engages in conservation and research work around the globe and is responsible for maintaining accredited horticultural, animal, library, and photo collections. The Zoological Society also manages the 100-acre San Diego Zoo and the San Diego Zoo’s Beckman Center for Conservation Research. The important conservation and science work of these entities is supported in part by the Foundation for the Zoological Society of San Diego.

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It is also extraordinary that the wild chicks and their parents have done so well. For more details, click here want to thank all of you who have made a donation to the Condor Emergency Fund already. Together, we will rebuild the Condor Sanctuary so that we can restore the California Condor to the wild and enable this wonderful species to be removed from the endangered species list.

Please help us tell the story by sharing this email with others or post to web and blog sites and encourage them to sign up for our email alerts and if they want to help they can make a donation also. Signing up for the email alert is free as you know and can be done by clicking here. It is a great way to get involved and hear directly from our biologists who are in turn directly working in the field. In the months ahead we will continue to tell the story as we rebuild the Condor Sanctuary.

Sincerely,

Kelly Sorenson
Executive Director

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Ventana Wildlife Society is the only not-for-profit organization releasing and managing condors in the wild in California. Your help is urgently needed at this time to help us overcome the setback of the fire and continue the momentum of restoring condors to their natural habitat.

As of today, our biologists have been able to track the radio signals from all but one of the 43 free-flying adult condors that VWS has surviving in the central California region. As for the newly hatched chicks, one of three wild nests was in a burned area, although we don’t yet know the fate of the chick inside. Two other nests were very near the fire but the chicks inside survived. On July 8, we were finally able to review the damages and determine that we lost all of the field pens in Big Sur for releasing the young condors along with important equipment.

Please consider making a generous gift to the Condor Emergency Fund at VWS. With your partnership, we can replace our lost equipment and supplies and support our biologists and loyal volunteers at this challenging time. In the months ahead, we will rebuild the condor release program as well as protect and maintain the health and safety of the wild flock in Big Sur. You can help us now by going to www.ventanaws.org or calling toll-free 877-897-7740 and pledging your support.

As a member, you will receive continued updates on the progress the California condors as well as our other projects to protect and restore wildlife and their habitats. It is thanks to the past generosity of our supporters and to partnerships with other dedicated organizations that visitors from all over the world now see wild condors soaring above the mountains of Big Sur. Our vision is to see this flock grow and prosper so it becomes permanent and self-sustaining – and no longer endangered.

Kelly Sorenson, Executive Director

Ventana Wildlife Society

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“Packy is a the most famous animal at our Zoo, so it’s only natural that he’d be chosen as father of the year,” said Tony Vecchio, Oregon Zoo director.

Forty-six-year-old Packy is dad to Sung-Surin (Shine) and Rama, both 25-years-old.

“We just finished a campaign for Zoo Mother of the Year, and found it was a fun way to initiate a relationship between the public and the highlighted animals,” said Vecchio. “As the public reads about the nominees, all of which belong to species that are either threatened or endangered, we hope they’ll come to understand and care about the challenges facing these animals in the wild.”

The Zoo is a service of Metro and is dedicated to its mission to inspire the community to create a better future for wildlife. Committed to conservation, the Zoo is currently working to save endangered California condors, Washington’s pygmy rabbits, Oregon silverspot butterflies, western pond turtles, Oregon spotted frogs and Kincaid’s lupine. Other projects include studies on black rhinos, Asian elephants, polar bears and bats.

The Zoo opens at 8 a.m. daily and is located five minutes from downtown Portland, just off Highway 26. The Zoo is also accessible by MAX light rail line. Zoo visitors are encouraged to ride MAX or take TriMet bus No. 63 to the Oregon Zoo. Visitors who take the bus or MAX receive $1 off zoo admission. Call TriMet Customer Service, 503-238-RIDE (7433), or visit www.trimet.org for fare and route information.

General admission is $9.75 (12-64), seniors $8.25 (65+), children $6.75 (3-11), and infants 2 and under are free; 25 cents of the admission price helps fund regional conservation projects through the Zoo’s Future for Wildlife program. A parking fee of $1 per car is also required. Additional information is available at www.oregonzoo.org or by calling 503-226-1561.
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Oregon Zoo ̈ 4001 SW Canyon Rd. ̈ Portland, Oregon 97221 ̈ 503-226-1561

Contacts: Bill LaMarche 503-220-2448 (office) or 503-497-5812 (pager)
Linda D’Ae-Smith 503-220-5716 (office) or 503-441-7573 (pager)

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