Natural History Wanderings

KQED reported

Condors are the largest land bird in North America. When their population shrunk to just 23, a substantial conservation campaign in California followed, spanning several decades. Now there are more than 600 alive, but they aren’t doing as well as scientists expected. That’s even after the state banned hunters from using lead bullets, fragments of which the birds swallow when they eat animal carcasses left behind. Scientists believe the reason these birds may be struggling are due to condors changing their behavior to act like more wild birds. The birds are foraging further away from sites where conservationists leave food and finding animals to eat that are sometimes shot with lead.

Read article at California Condors Are Still Dying — Despite a Lead Ammo Ban