The first California Condor to fledge in Zion National Park died early last week, just short of its fifth birthday. The lifespan of a California Condor can reach up to 60 years in the wild.
Necropsy results confirmed that lead poisoning was the cause of death, according to The Peregrine Fund. The fund along with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Zion National Park announced the death last week.
Hatched in May 2019, the condor was the 1,000th California Condor tagged as part of the California Condor Recovery Program, leading to his name, “1K.” In March, biologists noticed that 1K had stopped moving while in a remote canyon. They traversed several miles through rugged terrain to locate 1K and found that he had died.
“1K’s death is a tragedy because it was premature and preventable,” said TPF’s California Condor Program Manager Shawn Farry in a statement. “He was only a year or two away from finding a life-long mate and becoming a breeder. . . . He will be missed by so many who were lucky to catch a glimpse of 1K soaring through Zion Canyon.”
The California Condor Recovery Program began in 1982 with only 22 condors. 1K represented a remarkable benchmark in the success of the program.
1K quickly became a fan-favorite at Zion National Park, soaring the skies with his nine-and-a-half-foot wingspan. The park created merchandise and informative signs throughout the park to celebrate 1K as a symbol of hope for the recovery of the species.
Lead poisoning remains the number one cause of diagnosed California Condor fatalities, according to a TPF statement. Lead poisoning can result in serious illness, and often lead to deaths from starvation and dehydration. 90% of condors trapped and tested during this past year had blood lead levels that indicated lead exposure.
“The California Condor is an indicator species,” said TPF’s California Condor Program Director Tim Hauck in a statement. Carrion-eaters often consume the remains of shot animals like deer, elk, livestock or other game species. If those remains contain fragments from lead-based ammunition, scavengers can unknowingly consume lead.
“We know that other scavengers are eating from the same carcasses as condors,” continues Hauck. “Since many of those species are not currently considered at risk of extinction, they are not as closely monitored as the condors. But they are being exposed to the same sources of lead and are likely experiencing some level of lead poisoning.”
This news comes along with two California Condors that were reportedly shot north of Zion National Park, one in 2022 and one last month. You can read more about that story here.
Each condor life is integral to the preservation of the species. “The illegal killing of these two condors is a devastating and unnecessary loss on top of all the recent deaths from the highly pathogenic avian influenza,” said DWR Avian Conservation Program Coordinator Russell Norvell. “Between the two events, we’ve lost more than a decade’s worth of progress in the recovery of this species.”
In response to the preventable impact of lead poisoning on wildlife, TPF, the Oregon Zoo, and the Institute for Wildlife Studies co-founded the North American Non-lead Partnership (NANP), which aims to shape and facilitate efforts to minimize the threat of unintentional lead poisoning in wildlife.
Hunters have been receptive to NANP’s message and are making the switch to lead-free ammunition or removing the remains of lead-shot animals from the field.
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