Death of Two More Condors Major Setback for Ongoing Recovery Efforts

The death of two California condors has been deemed a major setback for the bird's recovery, the Los Angeles TImes reports.

Discovered in water tanks in Southern California roughly two weeks apart, the birds were sent to a forensics lab in Oregon for necropsies in hopes of determining how they died.

According to UPI, the latest reports bring this year's death toll up to three -- a heavy toll for a bird whose numbers in terms of those living in the wild are believed to hover around 100.

"To lose one is significant, and now, two deaths," Kim Delfino, director of Defenders of Wildlife California Program, told the Times. "It's a blow to recovery."

A search began for the first condor after its bird's transmitter signal change, indicating it had remained stagnant for at least 12 hours. A search ensued, culminating Oct. 2 when the condor was discovered in an open-air tank used to store water during wildfire season.

The second was discovered Oct. 17 in a similar tank during "The Great California Shakeout" training designed around earthquake preparedness.

The tanks, between 12-15 feet in diameter and at least 3 feet deep, were both emptied as fire season came to a close.

Based on the degree of decomposition, the birds appeared to have been lying in the tanks for "a number of days," according to Joseph Brandt, supervising wildlife biologist for the US Fish and WIldlife's Service's California Condor Recovery Program.

The other condor reported dead this year died due to lead poisoning, which wildlife officials say is the biggest threat facing the animal that often feeds on the carcases and lead bullets left behind by hunters.

"A lot of time and effort goes into each individual bird and it's never a good thing to hear about another dead condor," Steve Kirkland of the US Fish and Wildlife Service told the Times in an email. "While the loss of the two birds to the recent drownings is a setback, the larger cause of mortality, and the primary threat to the recovery, of the species is lead poisoning."