Two California condors from Pinnacles National Monument are back
home awaiting release after being treated for the highest
blood-lead levels ever observed in the park’s endangered species
flock.
Pinnacles national Monument – Two California condors from Pinnacles National Monument are back home awaiting release after being treated for the highest blood-lead levels ever observed in the park’s endangered species flock.
Carl Brenner, the park’s supervisor and interpreter of education, said Thursday the condors are doing better after undergoing a special detoxification process at the Los Angeles Zoo. A year ago, 11 condors from the monument were found to have elevated lead levels and given calcium to help recover.
“We try to get the blood system cleaned as quickly as we can,” Brenner said.
Female California condors Nos. 306 and 318 received the treatment. No. 306 is the oldest bird in the Pinnacles flock, which includes 13 condors. The park is waiting to release two more juvenile condors.
In June, park officials observed birds from both the Pinnacles and Big Sur feasting on a dead pig south of the monument’s boundaries, Brenner said.
When biologists ran a metal detector over the pig’s carcass, they found lead bullets, Brenner said. Biologists trapped eight of the condors and tested them for lead poisoning in early July.
The tests showed that condor No. 306 had 164 micrograms of lead per deciliter of blood, Brenner said. Condors with lead levels of more than 40 micrograms of lead per deciliter of blood are considered poisoned.
Big Sur condors were tested two weeks later. One of the Big Sur condors was found to have nearly four times the blood-lead levels of Pinnacles condor No. 306, and also was sent to the Los Angeles Zoo for treatment, according to park officials. The Big Sur condor has 610 micrograms of lead per deciliter of blood, the highest ever recorded on the Central Coast, Brenner said.
Blood collected from the California condors before and after the birds’ release showed increased lead levels, Smith said. Brenner said the park is continuing to work with UCSC to prove that lead ammunition is the primary cause of increased blood-lead levels in condors.
Condor Deaths Remain A Mystery
It’s been almost three months since two California condors from Pinnacles National Monument were found dead, and park biologists await an answer regarding the endangered birds’ deaths.
The birds’ cause of death was not immediately apparent, and park officials sent the corpses to laboratories in Ashland, Ore., and the San Diego Zoo for necropsies.
When phoned Thursday, laboratory spokespersons said they could not comment on their findings so far or when results of the necropsies are expected.
