Seven more Californian condors to be released in Arizona

17/07/2006 00:00:00 February 2007. Seven more Californian condors will be released into the wild at the Vermilion Cliffs National Monument this year.

In further good news for the species, Chris Parish, condor field project supervisor with The Peregrine Fund, the group releasing the bird, revealed ‘The condor breeding season is underway, and the first breeding pair of condors this year has laid an egg in a remote area of the Kaibab Plateau.’ Recovery from near extinction
The California condor has gone from only 22 birds left in the world in 1982 to nearly 300 today. The original 22 birds were captured in an effort to breed and save the species. Condors bred and raised in captivity are now periodically released at sites in California, Mexico and at the Vermilion Cliffs in Arizona.

‘The California condor is one of the great endangered species successes in the country, and to be able to share that with the public is very rewarding,’ says Kathy Sullivan, a condor biologist with the Arizona Game and Fish Department. ‘It is exhilarating to watch the birds fly free and to share their story with others.’

Condors were added to the federal endangered species list in 1967. The condor is the largest flying land bird in North America. The birds can weigh up to 26 pounds and have a wingspan of up to 9 1/2 feet. Condors were first reintroduced in Arizona in 1996, and they now number 57 in the state. Visitors at the Grand Canyon and Vermilion Cliffs may be able to observe the birds, especially during the spring and summer.

The condor reintroduction in Arizona is a joint project of many partners, including Arizona Game and Fish Department, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, The Peregrine Fund, Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, Kaibab National Forest and Utah Division of Wildlife Resources.