Humans are contributing to the health of the California Condor -- by hunting
Just a few years after humans helped pushed it to the brink of extinction, the California Condor may find itself owing its survival to people with guns.
That may sound like nonsense, but it is a reality that experts are beginning to embrace.
Two centuries ago, when California Condors soared over the West, they were nourished by a thriving population of large mammals -- deer, bear, seals, whales. Now our state is a different place, with a population exceeding 36 million. These sources of food are harder and harder to find, and competition among scavengers has made it hard for the condor.
The 95 condors that remain in the wild today in California (189 worldwide) are largely fed by humans, who leave animal carcasses at feeding stations within the birds' range. If these condors are ever going to live without this kind of support, they're going to need a steady supply of nourishment from California's wildlands and ranches.
This is where hunters -- particularly those that use the wildlands in and around Kern County -- make a big contribution.
A recent report issued by experts from the American Ornithologists' Union said unequivocally that hunting is essential to the survival of the California Condor.
"Humans are the dominant predators in most of the condor's range, and carcasses and gut piles resulting from hunting and other types of shooting are important food sources for condors," the report reads. "It is essential that hunters continue to harvest deer, pigs and other wildlife throughout the condor range using non-lead ammunition, so that a clean source of wild food is available to condors beyond food subsidies. It is hard to imagine that condors will be able to be sustained in the wild after food subsidies are reduced without this source of food."
That note about non-lead ammunition is important. When condors feed on carcasses left behind by hunters who use lead ammunition, they ingest the fragments and suffer from lead poisoning. Lead poisoning has been linked to at least a dozen confirmed deaths of condors in California. Many more condors have had to suffer having the lead removed from their blood in a painful and complicated medical process.
It was for this reason that a ban on the use of lead ammunition in the range of the California Condor went into effect last year. A recent report from the California Department of Fish and Game found that since the ban went into effect, there has been 99 percent compliance from hunters. Clearly, hunters understand what's at stake and are willing to act.
Early blood testing of California Condors since the ban went into effect seems to suggest that hunters' swift adoption of these new rules is resulting in lower lead levels.
It's not widely understood among the general public that hunters play a leading role in protecting California's wildlife and its habitat. Responsible, law abiding hunters are people who love the outdoors and have a real understanding of the beauty and importance of nature. And they want it preserved.
Through their license fees, they support threatened populations of mammals and birds. Many also participate in organizations that contribute to protecting wildlife preserves and other habitats for wildlife. As far as birds are concerned, hunters have done remarkable things to support wetland habitat, migratory bird populations.
Although the story of the California Condor has yet to be fully written, it would be wonderful to add this glorious species to the list of birds that hunters have helped preserve.
Graham Chisholm is Audubon California's executive director.
