California Condor Book

[Carl Jones]

California Condors were dying from lead poisoning, which still affects the released birds. They pick up lead from shot carcasses, and grallochs from shot deer. When the last condors were brought into captivity there was one bird in Los Angeles Zoo. He was a wild rescue called Topa-topa. I suspect Topa-topa, who will be over 50 years old may still be alive. The extinction of the louse was caused by over-zealous parasite control and is to be regretted.

 

[Carl Jones]

Topa-topa was taken to Los Angeles Zoo in 1967 as a starving fledgling. A partner Pax was trapped in 1982 but turned out to be a male. From 1983 they started harvesting eggs from wild pairs from which 13 young were reared, four nestlings were also harvested and reared. Eight other free-flying birds were captured between 1985 and 1987, when the last wild birds were captured. It was after 1985 when it was realised the population was in terminal decline that the decision was made to bring all the remaining birds into captivity. In 1987 there was a total of 27 captive condors, the very last of their species.

The history of the California Condor project is complex and is a wonderful case study in how endangered species projects may progress. A mix of science, personalities and politics with many ups and downs. It is perhaps one of the best documented endangered species recoveries with many books and papers published. The story is still unfolding as it will for many decades. The best account is by Noel and Helen Snyder who worked on the species. Their book The California Condor was published by Academic Press in 2000, from which I have taken the above details.

This species has been saved by a mix of good science, captive breeding and species management, driven by some amazing people.

 

[Carl Jones]

Thank you for bringing this book to my attention; I've just found a copy for sale on-line and am eagerly awaiting delivery.

I would like to hear what you think about the book. I really think it is wonderful since it gives you the biology in great detail and also an honest account of the realities of a conservation project. Too many accounts of conservation are sanitised.

The Snyders wrote a second book "Introduction to the California Condor" in 2005 which is small format but nevertheless an excellent work. There are many different books on the California Condor, technical works, popular accounts, novels and children's books. I am a bit of a condor obsessive and have 19 different titles.

 

[Tim May]

Elsewhere on ZooChat, @Carl Jones referred to the book The California Condor: A Saga of Natural History & Conservation (Noel Snyder and Helen Snyder; 2000).

Carl's comments about this book tempted me to purchase a copy and I am pleased that I did.

It is a well written, attractively illustrated and informative publication. I am enjoying reading it very much and thoroughly recommend it to anybody else interested in the subject.

 

[TeaLovingDave]

As the posts by @Carl Jones were unfortunately lost in cleaning up and deleting two threads posted in an incident of self-promotion and sock-puppetry, I have taken the liberty of copying them into this thread for the reference of interested parties due to the datestamp of the posts they appear prior to the original post by @Tim May which initially started this thread.

 

[FBBird]

As the posts by @Carl Jones were unfortunately lost in cleaning up and deleting two threads posted in an incident of self-promotion and sock-puppetry, I have taken the liberty of copying them into this thread for the reference of interested parties due to the datestamp of the posts they appear prior to the original post by @Tim May which initially started this thread.

What a wonderful turn of phrase you have TLD. Makes me want to re-read the self-promotion and sock-puppetry....

 

[Arizona Docent]

The only book on the birds I have read is this one: https://www.amazon.com/Condors-Cany...lifornia+condor&qid=1599518620&s=books&sr=1-4 which I picked up at the Grand Canyon (and subsequently donated to my local zoo docents after reading). It is I am sure much less detailed than the book indicated in this thread, but it is an enjoyable and informative read nonetheless. The sad part is that the Audubon Society, which alleges to be about saving birds and wildlife, actually sued U.S. Fish & Wildlife to prevent the capture and stop the breeding program. They lost the case, but if I remember correctly one condor (and its valuable genes) died during the delay caused by the court proceedings. Audubon's opinion (if I am interpreting it correctly) was that it was better to let the species "die with dignity" than be taken into captivity for breeding. This is why I will never make a donation to the national Audubon Society.

 

[Carl Jones]

I am pleased to hear that Tim is enjoying the California Condor book, and great to get the summary of California Condors in Canyon Country the from Arizona Docent. I also love this book with its beautiful ‘photos and informative text. In 2014 I spend several days with Tom Cade and Chris Parish, from the Peregrine Fund, visiting this site in the Grand Canyon region, watching the condors, thereby fulfilling a life-long dream to see free-living California Condors, and in the most amazing country.

Arizona Docent mentions that in the 1970's and 1980's there were opposing views about how to conserve the condor. Some felt the condor should die out with dignity rather than be saved by captive breeding and intensive management. They felt they should be wild and free and unsullied by the hands of scientists. I remember the period well; it was being argued that the captive breeding of raptors and their subsequent reintroduction and re-establishment in the wild was a hopeless dream and critically endangered species should be allowed to become extinct. This argument was put forwards in a book (1981) The Condor question. Captive or forever free?

The zoo community was able to save the condor by taking techniques that had been developed by the Peregrine Fund, to restore the Peregrine Falcon, and these were modified and applied to the California Condor. The California Condor project is a very powerful example of how captive breeding, and the management of free-living populations, when conducted systematically, and backed by good science, can be highly effective.

The condor books illustrate how real conservation works with its politics, egos and talented people.

 

[Stefan Verhoeven]

I have two books about Californian condors in my private collection:
- The California Condor by Carl B. Kofort from 1953.
- Condor - To the brink and back - The life and Times of one Giant bird by John Nielsen from 2006.

 

[birdsandbats]

The sad part is that the Audubon Society, which alleges to be about saving birds and wildlife, actually sued U.S. Fish & Wildlife to prevent the capture and stop the breeding program. They lost the case, but if I remember correctly one condor (and its valuable genes) died during the delay caused by the court proceedings. Audubon's opinion (if I am interpreting it correctly) was that it was better to let the species "die with dignity" than be taken into captivity for breeding. This is why I will never make a donation to the national Audubon Society.

I'm not sure how true this is. The sources I can find online seem to say that they sued to stop the capture of the last two bird specifically, not the entire population. They had hoped that leaving two in the wild under close observation would allow more to be understood about the behavior of the birds, in order for the captive breeding program to care for the birds for effectively. Even if what you say is true I highly doubt Audubon would do anything like this now.

 

[Carl Jones]

The Audubon Society Lawsuit is covered in Chapter 15 of Snyder and Snyder's book.
The National Audubon Society were opponents of captive breeding in the 1940's and 1950's although supported the project in the 1980's, including establishing a captive population. They would not however accept the capture of the last wild bids when the extent of the lead poisoning issue became obvious and it was clear (to some at least) the condors were in terminal decline. Their fear was that if all were brought into captivity the there would be little incentive to conserve the habitat. The conflict resulted in the Audubon society leaving the programme. This conflict has been well documented by the Snyders' in their book published in 2000 and also in a major paper in the journal Current Ornithology (1989).

 

[Onychorhynchus coronatus]

One book on the species that I read many years ago and that sticks in my mind is "Condor: To the Brink and Back--the Life and Times of One Giant Bird" by John Nielsen.

It is a popular science / natural history book but is quite well written. It covers the natural species history and evolution of the species during the Pleistocene epoch and specifically refers to theories about its dietary / ecological shifts towards the last glacial period and with the decline of the megafauna. A lot of the first half of the book also covers the wider environmental history of this region and the way that this bird was conceived by the indigenous inhabitants of the region and then by the Spanish and other European settlers who occupied California (then part of Mexico).

What the book really succeeds in highlighting though is all the human characters and their eccentricities (and contrasting viewpoints on the conservation of this bird) who were somehow involved in the story of the condor in the 20th century.

There were quite a few suprises from what I remember. For example, one of the pioneers in studying the species during the 1930's and 40's, Carl Kofford (and who also studied the Andean condor) generally seemed to believe that the species was doomed to extinction in the modern world and that it should be allowed to slip away "with dignity" rather than being brought into captivity.

For me this was quite shocking to read because this attitude kind of flies (pun unintended) in the face of conventional attitudes of conservation. However, it was interesting to find out that there were biologists / naturalists who in spite of clearly loving and admiring these species commonly held such attitudes towards their extinction back during those times.

Another unusual detail in the story was that one of the champions of the conservation of the species was a conservation biologist (unfortunately I really can't remember his name) who had become an Evangelical christian and who credited his faith with inspiring him to keep going with the efforts to conserve it when there were so many naysayers.

 

[Carl Jones]

One book on the species that I read many years ago and that sticks in my mind is "Condor: To the Brink and Back--the Life and Times of One Giant Bird" by John Nielsen.

For me this was quite shocking to read because this attitude kind of flies (pun unintended) in the face of conventional attitudes of conservation. However, it was interesting to find out that there were biologists / naturalists who in spite of clearly loving and admiring these species commonly held such attitudes towards their extinction back during those times.

These views need to be seen in context. At the time, in the early 1980s, there were strong feelings against captive breeding since it was believed, by many, that it was not a feasible strategy and it was felt that the release of captive-bred birds to the wild would not work. The irony is that it is the California Condor work that has helped change public and scientific opinion about the value of captive breeding, reintroduction and the management of species in the wild.
The California Condor work shows zoos at their best, and demonstrates how they can help endangered species. The lessons from the condor is that the work of the zoo and their skilled staff extends to the care of free-living populations, Zoo directors need to think beyond the cages and learn to apply the management techniques they have developed to care for their captive animals to wild populations.

 

[Onychorhynchus coronatus]

These views need to be seen in context. At the time, in the early 1980s, there were strong feelings against captive breeding since it was believed, by many, that it was not a feasible strategy and it was felt that the release of captive-bred birds to the wild would not work. The irony is that it is the California Condor work that has helped change public and scientific opinion about the value of captive breeding, reintroduction and the management of species in the wild.
The California Condor work shows zoos at their best, and demonstrates how they can help endangered species. The lessons from the condor is that the work of the zoo and their skilled staff extends to the care of free-living populations, Zoo directors need to think beyond the cages and learn to apply the management techniques they have developed to care for their captive animals to wild populations.

Totally agree Carl. The 1980's seems to have been a very polemical time in the conservation effort for the California condor and the context to a lot of the infighting and a lot of those who opposed captive breeding is indeed very important to consider.

But I should say from what I remember my shock while reading the book was more related to the earlier field studies by Kofford in the 1930's and 1940's (not 100% sure if it was during those decades ? ) and his attitude of simultaneosly admiring and feeling an affection for the bird yet also being (from what I remember reading) totally resigned to its extinction as a result of anthropic causes.

Once again, I totally agree about the condor work being a successful example of the ex-situ conservation role of zoos in breeding endangered species and in reintroduction. In fact, I'll give you an example of this that I know personally :

My former coordinator / colleague at Chapultepec Zoo in Mexico city, Erika Zamora Servin, is now heavily involved in the conservation of the condor in Mexico and has managed to breed the species at the zoo.

Erika attended the DESMAN course at Jersey zoo (about 2014 / 2015) and was most probably a student of yours and Richard Young while attending.