SESPE WILDERNESS : Condor Apparently Died of Poisoning

Although toxicology reports are not in yet, wildlife officials suspect that a California condor found dead last Thursday may have died from acute poisoning.

Robert Mesta, condor program coordinator for the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, said Tuesday that the bird probably ate something that killed him within 24 hours.

Mesta said there is nothing to suspect that the bird, named Chocuyens, was poisoned intentionally.

“It was something very accidental,” he said. “We’re as puzzled as anyone.”

Chocuyens, one of the first two California condors to be released to the wild, was found dead on a rocky ledge near Pyramid Lake Dam. Biologists tracking the bird daily by radio and binoculars became concerned when the bird had not moved for a day.

Mesta said the 20-pound condor, whose wingspan measured eight feet, must have died quickly because a necropsy performed at the San Diego Zoo showed that he had been healthy and uninjured.

He said the bird may have eaten something off the ground, such as Styrofoam. Chocuyens and 17-month-old Xewe were being fed stillborn calf carcasses, he said, and there was no evidence that they had eaten anything else.

The death of Chocuyens left Xewe in the wilds alone. Because the birds are gregarious by nature, biologists have decided to re-release two Andean condors trapped two weeks ago.

The three birds will serve as mentors when biologists release six more young condors as early as December at the Sespe Condor Sanctuary in Los Padres National Forest.