FILLMORE : Mild Shocks Ward Condors From Lines

Trying to teach California condors to stay away from man-made trouble, conservationists at the Los Angeles Zoo have erected a fake power line that gives the birds a mild shock.

The zoo’s scientists hope to avoid their experience in 1992, when they released 13 captive-bred condors into Los Padres National Forest, only to see four of them die when they roosted on power lines in the Sespe Condor Refuge near Fillmore.

“We understand that some people are worried” by the scientists’ shock therapy, said biologist Michael Wallace, the zoo’s curator of conservation and science. “But we would be the last people to do anything to harm these birds. . . . This is something that’s uncomfortable, but in no way harmful.”

Wallace said that young California condors traditionally rely on their elders to teach them where to land and what to avoid, but since there are few of the birds left, scientists have had to assume the role of mentor.

“We feared for their lives, putting them out there with no training,” Wallace said. “It took them only two to three experiences not to touch that pole again.”

Among the birds that have been shocked in the L.A. Zoo’s special aviary is Xewe, one of the first California condors hatched in captivity to be released into the wild. Xewe was first let out in 1992 but was recaptured in 1993 because she liked to perch on power lines.