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In the News

Check this page for the latest articles 'In the News'
regarding Ventana Wildlife Society and their mission.

NPR, All Things Considered, November 11, 2008
Big Sur's California Condors Get New Lease on Life

Condors in a Coal Mine
California's lead bullet ban protects condors and other wildlife, but its biggest beneficiaries may be humans
By John Moir
Smithsonian.com, September 09, 2008

It was early winter, the end of deer-hunting season in Central California, and condor biologist Joe Burnett of the Ventana Wildlife Society was steeling himself for a task he had come to dread. Burnett and a team of four Condor Recovery Program members were at a remote site in the mountains east of Big Sur, where they were trapping condors and testing them for lead poisoning.

Read the complete article in Smithsonian.com

Treatment fails to save condor No. 336
By KEVIN HOWE
Herald Staff Writer
Article Last Updated: 09/09/2008 01:34:51 AM PDT

A 4-year-old female condor captured Friday in Big Sur and rushed to the Los Angeles Zoo for treatment of lead poisoning died Sunday morning, according to senior wildlife biologist Joe Burnett of the Ventana Wildlife Society.

The deceased bird, identified as Condor No. 336, was shaking and weak when found by Ventana Wildlife biologist Sayre Flannagan, who caught it in a net on the ground in Big Sur.

Kelly Sorenson, executive director of the Ventana Wildlife Society, the only nonprofit group in California that breeds condors for introduction to the wild, said the condor was released three years ago at Pinnacles National Monument and was living and scavenging in Big Sur.

It was initially taken to the Avian and Exotic Animal Clinic in Monterey, given a blood test that showed "really high, life-threatening levels" of lead, then given emergency treatment, Burnett said, then taken to the Los Angeles Zoo for more comprehensive veterinary treatment.

The bird appeared to rally at first, he said, but weakened and succumbed Sunday.

A normal adult condor weighs 18 to 25 pounds, Burnett said. This one was down to 10.9 pounds when captured.

"It's hard to bounce back from a weight loss like that," Burnett said.

Wildlife biologists report that condors are particularly susceptible to lead poisoning and the use of lead in ammunition used for hunting has been banned since July 1 in California where condors range, to prevent them from ingesting lead fragments from game carcasses left by hunters.

"Condor 336 was perhaps our most well-known condor," said National Park Service superintendent Eric Brunneman at the Pinnacles, noting that it was featured for the past year in a YouTube clip that showed her devouring a deer heart.

From a population low of 22 birds in the mid 1980s, California condors are making a slow, but steady recovery through intensive captive breeding efforts and public education programs. As of August 2008,176 California condors live in captivity, Brunneman said, and 156 are in the wild, with 82 of those found in California.

Ventana Wildlife and the National Parks Service began releasing condors in Big Sur in 1997 and in the Pinnacles in 2003. The two groups monitor a population of 41 wild condors in Central California.

Kevin Howe can be reached at 646-4416 or khowe@montereyherald.com.

..CONDOR DOCTORING
Bird suffers from lead poisoning
By KEVIN HOWE
Herald Staff Writer
Article Last Updated: 09/06/2008 01:29:44 AM PDT

A 4-year-old female condor was captured Friday by wildlife biologists who stalked the sick bird for three days.

The animal was caught in a net on the ground in the Big Sur area, said Kelly Sorenson, executive director of the Ventana Wildlife Society, the only nonprofit group in California that breeds condors for introduction to the wild.

The condor was released three years ago at Pinnacles National Monument and was living and scavenging in Big Sur, said Ventana senior wildlife biologist Joe Burnett. A Big Sur resident reported the bird acting strangely.

"She was doing well," he said, "until this."

He said he knows what the problem is.

"Lead has reared its ugly head again," he said.

A study by University of California-Santa Cruz biologists links condor deaths to blood poisoning, and cites lead from bullets and shotgun pellets left in carcasses eaten by the condors as the main source. Condors, Burnett said, are particularly susceptible to lead poisoning.

The sick bird, identified as Condor No. 336, was shaking and weak when found by Ventana Wildlife biologist Sayre Flannagan.

The bird was taken to the Avian and Exotic Animal Clinic in Monterey, given a blood test that showed "really high, life-threatening levels" of lead, then given emergency treatment, Burnett said.

It was taken to the Los Angeles Zoo for more comprehensive veterinary treatment.

A normal adult condor weighs 18 to 25 pounds, Burnett said. This one was down to 10.9 pounds when captured.

"It's hard to bounce back from a weight loss like that," Burnett said.

The source of the lead has not been determined, Sorenson said.

The use of lead bullets or pellets for hunting in the condor range has been illegal since July 1, he said, and hunters are asked to comply with the new law by using non-lead ammunition when pursuing game.

In 1987, the last free-flying California condor was captured as part of an effort to save the species from extinction.

Ventana Wildlife and the National Parks Service began releasing condors in Big Sur in 1997 and in the Pinnacles in 2003. The two groups monitor a population of 41 wild condors in Central California.
Kevin Howe can be reached at 646-4416 or khowe@montereyherald.com.

Sunday, February 3, 2008 (SF Chronicle)
BUTTERFLIES DRAWN TO PACIFIC GROVE
Stephanie Wright Hession

(02-03) 04:00 PDT Pacific Grove -- - Ambling down a narrow pathway, past
the pink exterior of the Butterfly Grove Inn, butterfly enthusiasts arrive
at the Monarch Grove Sanctuary in Pacific Grove. They're eager to glimpse
the thousands of black-and-orange creatures that winter at the sanctuary
from October through March. Read more>>

NEW EGG FOR CONDORS
By KEVIN HOWE
Herald Staff Writer
Article Last Updated: 02/27/2008 08:35:27 AM PST

The nesting pair of condors that hatched the first condor chick in the wild in California in a century has laid another egg.

Joe Burnett, senior wildlife biologist for the Ventana Wildlife Society's Condor Recovery Program, reported that the nesting pair was showing "telltale signs that (the mother) was tending to an egg in her cliffside nest cave" on Valentine's Day.

Burnett said this was the second try for the pair, who produced a condor the society named Centennia. Centennia hatched early last year, but was attacked by a golden eagle while flying free in Big Sur on Dec. 4.

The attack was seen by Deborah Visco, an intern for the Condor Recovery Program, who reported that the chick appeared to be successfully defending itself.

Burnett said biologists presume Centennia was killed by the eagle.

"It is not uncommon for condors to fail on their first try," he said, "and we are optimistic that their second time around will produce even better results.

"Golden eagles have always been a natural threat to condors," Burnett said. "They must carefully relearn how to coexist with natural predators in the wild."

Another condor hatched in Big Sur last year after being nurtured by artificial means and named Ventana, "is thriving in the wild," he said.

Ventana Wildlife Society began releasing condors in Central California in 1997 and monitors a flock of 44 wild condors in collaboration with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife and the National Parks services. In 1982, there were only 22 wild condors in existence. Now there are more 300 in the wild or being raised in captivity.

For information, see www.ventanaws.org. Kevin Howe can be reached at 646-4416 or khowe@montereyherald.com.

Lead bullet ban adopted
Legislation intends to protect condors
By KEVIN HOWE
Herald Staff Writer
Article Last Updated: 12/08/2007 01:31:20 AM PST

A ban on lead bullets for hunting in the California condor range was adopted Friday by the state Fish and Game Commission.
The ban goes beyond legislation adopted last summer and signed into law by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The new regulations prohibit possessing lead ammunition and a gun that can shoot it while hunting in the condor range.

http://www.montereyherald.com/local/ci_7669376

Condor leaves the nest
The bird, named Ventana, is the second to take flight this year
By KEVIN HOWE
Monterey Herald Staff Writer
Article Last Updated: 10/29/2007 01:27:36 AM PDT

A second condor raised in the wild in Monterey County has taken flight from her nest.
The "redwood condor" — so named because she was raised in nest built in a redwood tree — had been named Ventana and took flight Oct. 22, said senior wildlife biologist Joe Burnett of the Ventana Wilderness Society.

Ventana biologist Mike Tyner saw the condor perched in a small tree below the nest "and reported that she was looking very healthy," Burnett said. "Her parents have been able to get food to her and she is well fed."

The big bird has stayed close to her nest tree and Saturday had moved to a better perch in a larger tree, Burnett said.
More>>> http://www.montereyherald.com/local/ci_7310464

Condor chick makes first flight
Centennia eases concerns of biologists
By KEVIN HOWE
Monterey Herald Staff Writer
Article Last Updated: 09/28/2007

Centennia has set another record.
The first California condor chick successfully hatched in the wild in Monterey County in more than 100 years, Centennia took her first flight from her cave nest in Big Sur on Wednesday, said Joe Burnett, senior wildlife biologist with the Ventana Wildlife Society.

It was another landmark this year in the Wildlife Society's condor recovery program, he said, accomplished by the same bird.

"She's out on the wing. She is now an official wild-fledged bird. It's a pretty historic day."
More>>> http://www.montereyherald.com/ci_7023845

San Jose Mercury News
Condor dispute takes off
STATE OFFICIAL FIRED; SOUGHT LEAD SHOT BAN
By Paul Rogers
Article Launched: 09/15/2007 01:30:54 AM PDT
A push to reduce the poisoning of California condors by banning the lead bullets that lodge in their prey faced a cloudy future Friday, a day after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger fired a state Fish and Game commissioner targeted by Republican lawmakers.
The ouster sent a chill through the environmentalists and biologists who say forbidding the bullets where the condors fly - a move decried by hunters - is key to the endangered species' continued recovery. It also threatens to dim Schwarzenegger's image as an environmental leader.
"There's literally no hope for recovering the condor unless we remove lead from their food supply," said wildlife biologist Kelly Sorenson of Big Sur.
http://www.mercurynews.com/politics/ci_6903076?nclick_check=1

L. A. Times 9-14-07
Fish and Game official, criticized for stance on bullets, resigns
Hanna had advocated banning lead ammo in condor territory. GOP lawmakers demanded that the Schwarzenegger administration remove him from his post
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-me-resign14sep14,1,1540976.story?coll=la-headlines-nation

Sacramento Bee 9-14-07
Another shot in ammo battle
State Fish and Game Commission member quits, citing pressure over condor protection
http://www.sacbee.com/111/story/378564.html

Legislation to Save North America’s Largest Bird the Condor ...http://www.californiachronicle.com/articles/viewArticle.asp?articleID=36833

California Chronicle, CA - Sep 4, 2007
AB 821, the Ridley-Tree Condor Preservation Act will remove the number one threat to the survival of the endangered California condor, lead ammunition, ...

Rare Condor Dies While Undergoing Lead Poisoning Treatment At The ...http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/08/070819153340.htm
Science Daily (press release) - Aug 19, 2007
To reach blood lead levels of this magnitude the condor must ingest lead fragments directly as background blood lead levels from environmental contact such ... ***

Ventana Wildlife Society Contacts:
Kelly Sorenson, Executive Director
Joe Burnett, Senior Wildlife Biologist

Ventana Wildlife Society
19045 Portola Drive Suite F-1
Salinas, CA 93908
(831) 455-9514