“The fact that the President,
George Bush’s first foreign
visit has our country as its
destination is a clear message
of the interest his administration
places on strengthening links
with Mexico.”
President Vicente Fox, Mexico
“We are welcoming a new day
in the relationship between
America and Mexico. Each
nation has a new President,
and a new perspective.
Geography has made us
neighbors; cooperation and
respect will make us partners.”
President George W. Bush, U.S.
The United States and Mexico share a
2,235-mile border and a long yet little
known history of wildlife conservation.
As early as 1936, wildlife managers from
both countries have reached across
the way to each other and have been
quietly conserving the wildlife and
wild places of the border region.
What: First release of California
condors in Mexico
Where: Sierra de San Pedro Martir,
Baja, Mexico
When: Spring 2002
Contact: Dario Bard, U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, 202/219 7499
“As an associate solicitor at the Interior
Department a decade and a half ago, I
played a part in the battle to take the
last California condors out of the wild
and save them from extinction. Back
then, some of those critical of the
approach said the condor must ‘die with
dignity,’ but today I have the great
pleasure of helping release condors
born and raised in captivity into the
wild. Hand in hand with many partners,
we’re pulling this majestic bird back
from the brink of extinction.”—
Interior Secretary Gale Norton,
April 5, 2001
The Story
Last April, Interior Secretary Gale
Norton helped release five endangered
California condors, North America’s
largest bird, into the mountains along
California’s Big Sur coast. Across the
border in Mexico, Exequiel Ezcurra,
head of the Instituto Nacional de
Ecologia, hopes to see a similar event
take place in his country, where
California condors haven’t been seen
since 1940. Presently, U.S. and Mexican
conservationists are working together
The Return of the California Condor
A New Day…Un Nuevo Dia
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Walter A. Weber
to evaluate the Sierra de San Pedro
Martir in northern Baja as a suitable
release site. If all goes as expected,
Mexico might be home to four
California condor chicks by spring 2002.
Status and Threats
The California condor is North
America’s largest bird, weighing up to
25 pounds and having a wingspan of 9.5
feet. The species has existed for at least
11,000 years, but since 1890, it has
experienced severe declines due to a
variety of factors, including egg
collecting, lead poisoning (resulting
from the ingestion of bullet fragments
in the carcasses of game animals), and
collisions with human-made structures
(such as power lines). In 1982, the
species hit a low point, with only 22
birds known to exist. Alarmed,
conservationists initiated a captive
breeding program, which has proven
extraordinarily successful. Today there
are about 160 California condors
existing in the world, 54 of which are
back in the wild.
Milestones on the Road to Recovery
1890
Wild California condor population
estimated at 600.
1940
Wild population estimate drops to 100.
Species disappears in Mexico.
1960
No more than 60 California condors
estimated to exist in the world.
1967
California condor listed as an
endangered species under the
precursor to today’s Endangered
Species Act.
1975
To address the species’ decline, the
California Condor Recovery Program
is established, led by the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service and the Audubon
Society, and also including the U.S.
Forest Service, the San Diego and Los
Angeles zoos, and the California
Department of Fish and Game.
1982
Only 22 California condors known to
exist. Conservationists begin to take
condor chicks from the wild for captive
rearing.
1983
Conservationists begin to remove
eggs from the wild and hatch them
in captivity. Chicks born in captivity
are raised in boxes that simulate a
cave environment and are fed by
conservationists using condor hand
puppets.
1985
Six wild condors disappear, leaving a
single breeding pair in existence in the
wild for the entire species. At this
desperate point, the Fish and Wildlife
Service makes the controversial
decision to capture all remaining wild
condors in an effort to keep them safe
and begin a captive breeding
program—a last ditch effort to save
the species from extinction.
1987
The last wild condor is removed
from the wild. At this point, the
entire species population numbers
27 individuals.
1988
For the first time, a chick is hatched
from a condor egg laid in captivity.
Meanwhile, to prepare for the species’
eventual return to the wild, 13 female
Andean condors—a closely related
condor species—are released in
California condor habitat. These
Andean condors served as surrogates
for their cousins, helping scientists
perfect release techniques and identify
condor threats.
1992
The California condor returns to the
wild, with eight of 63 condors released
in California.
1996
The California condor returns to
Arizona, with 6 birds released at the
Vermilion Cliffs.
2001
In March, for the very first time, a
reintroduced California condor lays an
egg in the wild. In April, Interior
Secretary Gale Norton helps release
five more California condors, increasing
the wild population to 54 birds. All told,
there are approximately 160 California
condors in existence today. During the
winter, four more condors will be
released into the wild in Arizona.
Additionally, a non-toxic bullet, which
substitutes tungsten and tin for lead, is
expected to hit the market this year.
2002
The California condor returns to
Mexico?
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
http://www.fws.gov
June 2001
David Clendenen
