4 Condors Released in Arizona Found Dead of Lead Poisoning

Four California condors that were released in northern Arizona as part of a reintroduction program have been found dead of lead poisoning, wildlife officials said Tuesday.

Officials believe the birds may have feasted on the carcass of a cow or another animal that had been killed with a shotgun. In one dead condor, 17 lead shotgun pellets were found in its digestive system.

The first of the four condors was found dead in March along the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon.

After that death, all 24 of the giant birds in the Arizona wild were trapped and tested for lead exposure in April.

But despite a clean bill of health then, three others were found dead of lead poisoning late last month. Another is also feared dead because wildlife officials have been unable to track the bird since July 2.

A dozen condors have been recaptured and will undergo lead testing, said Jeff Cilek, spokesman for the Peregrine Fund, a Boise, Idaho-based nonprofit organization that funds the reintroduction program.

“We’ve been doing this for 3 1/2 years and there has never been a problem with lead,” he said. “The problem is that it is not hunting season. That is what makes it all the more strange.”

California condors, among the most ancient of North America’s birds, were shot, poisoned and electrocuted to near extinction until biologists launched the multimillion-dollar recovery program in the 1980s.

Since the condor reintroduction began in Arizona in December 1996, 14 of the 35 condors released have died, according to biologists for the Peregrine Fund. Necropsies, radiographs and blood tests will be used to confirm the recent lead exposure. Wildlife officials are also searching for the source of the exposure, but admit the chances of pinpointing it are slim.