Ailing Condor Found, Dies Hours Later

A California condor died Wednesday, hours after being found emaciated and ailing on a ranch in the Sierra foothills of Tulare County.

Ralph Young of the state Department of Fish and Game said that since the bird was not tagged, it could not be immediately determined if it was one of the 17 condors known to exist in the wild.

Cause of the big bird’s death was not known, and the remains were flown to the San Diego Zoo for an autopsy.

Young said the condor was discovered Tuesday by the wife of the foreman of the ranch. The woman, who was not identified, notified wildlife officials at once, and by 3 a.m. a team headed by J. Michael Scott of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service was at the ranch.

The bird, which Young said was “exceedingly emaciated and very weak,” was given an antibiotic shot, but died about seven hours later.

Young called the death a “real setback” in efforts to save the endangered species and pointed out that it came close on the heels of scientists’ announcement that they are now unable to locate four of the five wild breeding pairs.

Sixteen condors are now in the Los Angeles and San Diego zoos as part of a program to breed them in captivity.