Wednesday, May 27, 2009
California Condor
Bruce Robertson usually spends his time as a private detective hunting down cheating spouses and insurance criminals. But these days he’s tracking down a shooter—of two endangered California condors. The birds were found in March by biologists who discovered shotgun pellets in the animals. One later died, while the second was treated and released back into the wild.
Robertson and others suspect the shooting was the product of someone angry over a recent ban on lead bullets in condor country. The state imposed the restriction after scientists realized that the condors were feasting on dead animals killed with lead bullets, causing the birds to become ill and in many cases die. Fourteen condors have died from lead poisoning in California and 12 more in Utah and Arizona since the condor conservation program began in 1982.
Robertson was hired by the Center for Biological Diversity to investigate the shooting. Environmental groups, foundations and the state government have raised $40,500 in reward money for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for the attack.
Lead bullets were banned in California on July 1, 2008, and the National Park Service followed with its own laws in March of this year. Statistics show hope that there will soon be lead-free areas, because the number of birds infected by lead poisoning has decreased to 45 percent in the last six months of 2008 compared with 59 percent in the first six months of the year. During the last summer hunting season, 90 percent of hunters checked in the San Benito County parking areas were using steel and copper bullets, also showing progress with the sometimes-resistant hunters. However, ranchers not included in the state-run parks’ jurisdiction still continue to shoot pigs and squirrels with lead bullets, saying that forcing people to use more expensive ammunition is violating their property rights. Tensions between hunters and the state have been high since a similar situation occurred in 1991 when laws forced duck hunters to switch to different ammunition that were less accurate.
-Noel Brinkerhoff, Jackie Gallegos
Another Way Lead Kills Condors (by Malia Wollan, New York Times)
California Condor Deaths Shows Lead Still a Problem (by Tracle Cone, Associated Press)
One Lead-Poisoned and Shot Condor Dies at L.A. Zoo, the Other is Rereleased (by Lindsay Barnett, Los Angeles Times)
On the Wings of a Condor (by John Driscoll, Times-Standard, Eureka CA)
Comments