A California condor that had recently been released from a rehabilitation program has died from lead poisoning.
The Yurok Tribal Government announced the death of Pey-noh-pey-o-wok (which means ‘I am friend or kind or good natured’) in a social media post Wednesday. The bird was found deceased in the remote backcountry of Redwood National Park in January.
A pathology examination found a lead air gun pellet in the animal’s gizzard and very high concentrations of lead in his level and bone. The source of the pellet is unknown, the organization said in a statement.
It’s the first loss for the Northern California Condor Restoration Program.
The bird was 18 months old and the youngest of his 18 bird flock. It had been in the wild for just over three months. Pey-noh-pey-o-wok was bred and hatched at the Los Angeles Zoo.
“The loss of Pey-noh-pey-o-wok’ was a huge blow to us,” said Program Manager and Yurok Tribe Senior Biologist Chris West. “Death is part of work with wild animals, but his was hard as our first loss. Thankfully, we have 17 other amazing birds in our flock carrying our hopes, dreams, and prayers.”
As the biggest threat to condors, lead is responsible for killing nearly half of released condors where cause of death is determined.
The poisonings are almost always linked to carrion from lead-shot game, livestock and vermin. Vultures, eagles and condors can die from just ingesting one small lead bullet fragment. Vultures and eagles are more likely to become sick from scavenging the remains of an animal that has been killed with lead ammunition.
“A natural death would have been less painful for us, the humans watching as he started to flourish in the wild,” said Yurok Tribe Wildlife Department Director Tiana Williams-Claussen.
“Pey-noh-pey-o-wok was known for his friendliness, preening and huddling together with other condors, sharing food easily. He had only been flying free for a few months. That he was brought down by something human-caused and preventable is devastating.”
Condors, eagles and vultures help the environment by reducing the spread of disease by scavenging carcasses.
All the birds in Pey-noh-pey-o-wok’s flock had been released by the program within the last several years.
The program released the first condors to fly over the Yurok territory, located in northern California along the lower Klamath River and the Pacific coast, in more than a century. More birds are due to be released later this year.
The California condor is considered critically endangered. It’s one of the largest flying birds in the world. While in the air, its wings can span nine feet long.
In 1987, the population of California condors had sunk to 27 birds. The total population today is more than 500.
