Comments on: “Junk food” http://cacondorconservation.org/content/blog/conservation-challenges/2008/%e2%80%9cjunk-food%e2%80%9d/ Wed, 08 Sep 2010 07:22:19 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.3.3 By: David Dabaco http://cacondorconservation.org/content/blog/conservation-challenges/2008/%e2%80%9cjunk-food%e2%80%9d/#comment-7457 David Dabaco Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 +0000 http://cacondorconservation.org/content/blog/conservation-challenges/2008/%e2%80%9cjunk-food%e2%80%9d/#comment-7457 In response to your article “Junk food” in which Bill Toone writes, Condors are curious creatures and attracted to shiny objects. When rearing their young, they look for solid material to feed their young to help in development. Decades ago, they used to select bits of bone. Now, they have more interesting choices … glass, bottle caps, pop-tops, etc... (and that) Young condors are unable to digest or regurgitate these items and perish. Does it not make more sense that condors living around large military bases such as Camp Roberts and Ft. Hunter Liggett are feeding shinny objects such as lead fragments from the tons of expended ammunition, bullet fragments, and other hazardous waste material left behind by the military than the occasional gut pile or lost deer left behind by a hunter? In order to explain the high levels of lead in condors, it seem rather obvious that the source for lead ammunition needs to be large and cannot be explained by the occasional hunter's lost bullet or lost deer. Rather the bullet fragments found in birds and the high levels of lead poisoning seem much more easily explained by condors who are looking for solid shiny material to feed their young on old military shooting ranges or other such sources. In the case of Camp Roberts or Ft. Hunter Liggett, many of these ranges are not easily recognizable as "shooting ranges," but rather are vary large areas in which military maneuvers once took place, massive amounts of ammunition was expended, and now look like overgrown "natural" habitat. If you have ever been to Camp Roberts or Ft. Hunter Liggett you would understand what I am talking about. The military was not very good at cleaning up after itself. David In response to your article “Junk food” in which Bill Toone writes,

Condors are curious creatures and attracted to shiny objects. When rearing their young, they look for solid material to feed their young to help in development. Decades ago, they used to select bits of bone. Now, they have more interesting choices … glass, bottle caps, pop-tops, etc… (and that) Young condors are unable to digest or regurgitate these items and perish.

Does it not make more sense that condors living around large military bases such as Camp Roberts and Ft. Hunter Liggett are feeding shinny objects such as lead fragments from the tons of expended ammunition, bullet fragments, and other hazardous waste material left behind by the military than the occasional gut pile or lost deer left behind by a hunter? In order to explain the high levels of lead in condors, it seem rather obvious that the source for lead ammunition needs to be large and cannot be explained by the occasional hunter’s lost bullet or lost deer. Rather the bullet fragments found in birds and the high levels of lead poisoning seem much more easily explained by condors who are looking for solid shiny material to feed their young on old military shooting ranges or other such sources. In the case of Camp Roberts or Ft. Hunter Liggett, many of these ranges are not easily recognizable as “shooting ranges,” but rather are vary large areas in which military maneuvers once took place, massive amounts of ammunition was expended, and now look like overgrown “natural” habitat. If you have ever been to Camp Roberts or Ft. Hunter Liggett you would understand what I am talking about. The military was not very good at cleaning up after itself.

David

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