Lead poisoning decimating endangered condors

Wildlife biologists have struggled mightily to save the California condor, the king of the vulture family, which was previously driven to extinction in Arizona (and to the brink in California).

There are only about 350 of the birds left alive, and only 150 in the wild. But those in the wild are being whittled away by hunter’s bullets — not directly, as in the past, but indirectly.

Lead poisoning is the leading cause of death for an experimental population of California condors re-introduced to the Grand Canyon, according to environmental lobbyists from the Sierra Club and the Grand Canyon Wildlands Council.

The condors ingest the lead as they scavenge animal carcasses left by hunters. The birds consume tiny fragments of lead, from bullets, along with the carrion. Then they get sick, and some die.

At last count, there are 63 of the magnificent birds left in Arizona, about a third of the entire wild population.

Eight condors were lost to lead poisoning between 2005 and 2006 — about 13 percent of Arizona’s total.

Conservationists have petitioned the Arizona Game and Fish Commission to amend state hunting regulations to require the use of non-lead ammunition.

“Lead is an extremely toxic substance that we have sensibly removed from most of our environment, including water pipes, gasoline, paint, and cooking utensils,” said Sandy Bahr, Chapter Director of the Sierra Club’s Grand Canyon Chapter, in a press release. “It only makes sense to remove it from ammunition too.”

It’s a big step, and no doubt the hunters will be up in arms. Non-lead ammo is a little more expensive. Currently, it’s a little hard to find. Other than that, it kills animals just as well, apparently.

California passed a similar law earlier this year, and the state seems to be doing fine.

Let’s get it done here.

John Collins Rudolf

(photo credit: Daniel Bianchetta, via Ventana Wildlife Society)