Condor Treated at Zoo Released Into the Wild
A condor recently released after treatment for lead poisoning was winging her way north Friday toward her old foraging ground, a spokesman for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said.
The huge endangered bird, known as AC8, is at least 30 years old, which makes her one of the last known condors to be raised in the wild, said Greg Austin, a scientist with the service’s condor recovery project. Lead levels in her blood were found to be extremely high during routine testing about six weeks ago, he said.
AC8 was treated at the Los Angeles Zoo before her release into Los Padres National Forest on Monday, Austin said.
By week’s end, radio transmitters affixed to her showed that she was heading toward her favorite feeding area in the southern Sierra Nevada.
Lead chunks were discovered in her digestive tract, Austin said. More tests must be done to pinpoint where they came from.
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