Is the California Condor Recovery Program a Success? If not, what will it take?

Practical models to guide the transition of California Condors from a conservation-reliant to a self-sustaining species. Bakker et al, Biological Conservation, March 2024.

California Condors were brought back from the brink of extinction in 1987, when the last of the remaining 22 Condors in the wild were captured and placed in the San Diego Zoo and the Los Angeles Zoo. Although it was a highly controversial management decision at the time, it was a critically important decision. The Condor mortality rate was about 25% per year. The most common cause of mortality then, as it is now - was lead poisoning. This predicament made the California Condor "conservation-reliant." Even though captive breeding success has allowed the release of several hundred captive-raised Condors, the wild, free-flying population cannot maintain its population numbers without the release of captive-raised Condors because of high mortality, primarily from lead poisoning.

California Condor, L.A. Zoo

Consistent with previous analyses, the growth of the free-flying Condor population in California continues to be dependent upon the release of captive-bred juveniles. Perhaps most importantly, small reductions in the lead mortality rate have been predicted to increase population growth more than releasing captive-bred juveniles. The authors of the following paper postulate that 2 – 3 captive-bred juveniles are required to offset the loss of one adult. Clearly, the loss of both released juveniles as well as adults, primarily due to lead poisoning, needs to be a priority to save this species from extinction. Doing so would also free up millions of dollars a year for other conservation projects. Unfortunately, ongoing lead poisoning still threatens Condors with extinction.