San Diego
The San Diego Zoo’s efforts to preserve the endangered California condor got a boost Wednesday when the California Assembly approved spending $500,000 in state funds for the program.
The money would go to the San Diego and Los Angeles zoos by this summer, in time to complete construction of new facilities before the birds’ breeding season begins.
The funding is included in a measure by Assemblywoman Lucy Killea (D-San Diego). The Assembly approved the bill on a vote of 72 to 5 and sent it to the Senate.
In addition to the funding, the bill authorizes the California Department of Fish and Game to carry out a condor preservation project, to include habitat protection, research, the captive breeding program and a program to release condors born in captivity back into the wild.
The work is to be done by the zoos under contract to the state.
The condor, North America’s largest land bird, once ranged from British Columbia to Baja California. But the population in the wild steadily declined until zoo and state and federal game officials decided to capture the last remaining birds in an effort to breed a larger population and then release the birds into the wild.
The last wild condor was captured in April and taken to the San Diego Wild Animal Park.
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