Investigators say ‘wanted’ campaign may have discouraged other
such incidents on Central Coast
No substantive leads have surfaced after the posting of
”
wanted
”
posters following the shooting of two condors earlier this year,
but investigators say there is a silver lining to the effort.
Investigators say ‘wanted’ campaign may have discouraged other such incidents on Central Coast
No substantive leads have surfaced after the posting of “wanted” posters following the shooting of two condors earlier this year, but investigators say there is a silver lining to the effort.
“We haven’t found out who shot the condors yet, but the good news is that there haven’t been any more shootings,” said Bruce Robertson of Tristar Investigation, who was hired by the Center for Biological Diversity to investigate the shootings near Big Sur.
This spring, the Center distributed Old West-style posters that offer a $40,000 reward for information leading to the conviction of a shooter or shooters responsible for shooting two birds in March. The posters include a toll-free condor tip line (800-840-1272) and an e-mail option; Co*******@gm***.com.
“When the Center for Biological Diversity hired me, they were concerned that there were going to be a rash of these shootings,” Robertson said. “We have not identified who committed these crimes yet, but we remain hopeful and are glad that they haven’t occurred again. These things take time. The reward stands; our tip line is still in place. We are still being very aggressive in solving the case.”
One of the birds, dubbed Condor 286 by the Ventana Wildlife Society – whose scientists captured it in early March – was treated at the Los Angeles Zoo for a severe case of lead poisoning. Zoo veterinarians then discovered 15 shotgun pellets lodged of lead poisoning likely caused by ingesting hunter-shot lead ammunition. The second bird, Condor 375, was released by the Ventana Wildlife Society on May 1 to Big Sur. The 4-year-old female was treated for lead poisoning and was found to have shotgun pellets in its wing and thigh.
Robertson said his investigation, which the Center has said has included more than 1,000 miles of travel within the region, has netted “some information that has been helpful.”
“I can’t go into the details because we don’t have any solid leads on anybody with firsthand knowledge of the shootings,” he said, noting that the birds may have been shot by someone outside of the area or the state and who may not be aware of the investigation.
According to the wildlife society, the endangered California condor – the largest land bird in North America – is often poisoned when it ingests lead bullet fragments left behind in animal carcasses or gut piles. In July 2008, state law changed regulations to require hunters in the condor’s range to use only non-lead ammunition.
Adam Keats, the urban wildlands director for the Center for Biological Diversity, echoed Robertson’s sentiments about the success of the investigation so far.
“We’d love to have caught the person responsible for the shootings by now, but the campaign and the investigation have been successful in that there haven’t been any more shootings,” he said. “One of our goals is to prevent this from happening again. No news is good news in a lot of respects for the condor.”
The Ventana Wildlife Society reports that there are 321 condors known to be alive, approximately half of which are flying free in California, Arizona, Utah and Baja Mexico. The condor population hit a low of 22 in 1982.
The society began condor releases in Big Sur in 1997 and added a release site at Pinnacles National Monument in 2003. Together with the National Park Service, the wildlife society monitors a flock of 48 wild condors in Central California.
