Condor Found Dead Under Power Line

A 3-year-old female California condor released in the wilds of Big Sur two years ago was found dead Saturday under a power line with burn marks on its feathers, officials said.

The death of the endangered bird brings the total number of condors in the wild to just 73, said Kelly Sorenson, executive director of the Ventana Wilderness Society, a nonprofit group that rehabilitates and releases birds into the wild. There are now 126 condors in captivity.

It is believed the condor died about 10 a.m. when power in the immediate area went out, Sorenson said. The bird had a hole in its chest that may have come from the high voltage of the power line, he said.

“The bird was seen feeding and was alive and well just this morning,” Sorenson said.

A necropsy will be performed at the San Diego Zoological Society.

Earlier this year, three California condor chicks were found dead from unknown causes in the Los Padres National Forest. The chicks were the first condors to be laid and hatched in the wild since 1984 as part of a recovery program by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The Fish and Wildlife Service and two private nonprofit groups, the Ventana Wilderness Society and the Peregrine Fund, operate the only captive breeding facilities in the United States with condor release programs.

The 3-year-old condor that died Saturday was released in March 2000 when it was a year old.

The bird had been monitored on a weekly basis from an aircraft while a ground crew of biologists observed it from the ground.

“You have to expect mortality every year, it’s just a part of life,” Sorenson said.

Of 33 condors released into the wild by the Ventana Wilderness Society, three have died -- all from collisions with power lines, Sorenson said. Seven have returned to captivity, he said.

The remaining 23 condors have started approaching their breeding age of 6.

Seven more condors are expected to be released Dec. 12, Sorenson said.

The latest death came as a surprise because condors released since 1995 receive “power pole avoidance training,” which includes a mock power pole that delivers a mild shock to the young condors.

California condors, which can live up to 50 years in the wild, have a low reproductive rate.

Experts said the condors, which pose no threat to humans, play an important role in cleaning the ecosystem as scavengers because they eat the remains of dead animals that harbor disease.