2023-05-01 22:06:01
PHOENIX (AP) — Twenty California condors in northern Arizona and southern Utah have died since March, with half of the birds testing positive for a strain of bird flu, authorities said.
Four condors are still receiving care and have shown signs of improvement. But wildlife authorities told The Arizona Republic newspaper that they are concerned the recent outbreak might spread to other condor populations.
To date, the virus has not been detected in condor populations in California or Baja California, Mexico.
The Peregrine Fund, a group that manages condor populations in the wild, estimates that there are 116 condors soaring in the skies of Arizona and Utah, inhabiting places like Grand Canyon National Park, Zion National Park, Vermillion National Monument Cliffs, the Kaibab Plateau and surrounding areas.
“The condor is slow to mature, taking up to eight years before it can have young, and with an average of one young every two years, the replacement rate for a loss in the wild is a huge shock,” said Chris Parish, president and director general of the Peregrine Fund in statements to the Republic. “Taking into account the total number of birds we eventually lose and the age structure of those losses, we will have a huge, possibly decades-long impact on recovery efforts.”
The California condor has been protected as an endangered species since 1967.
By 1982 there were fewer than 25 condors in the wild until a program began to capture the remaining condors and breed them in captivity.
The first condor was released back into the wild in 1995, and the first wild-born condor arrived in 2003.
Before the recent spate of deaths, the National Park Service said there were only 334 condors in the wild.
According to experts in bird deaths, it is possible that migratory patterns are contributing to the spread of bird flu during the current outbreak.
They claim that, historically, bird flu disappears following one season. But this strain has been spreading for a longer period and has affected birds since the spring of last year.
Virologists are not sure why this strain is more persistent than normal, and studies are continuing to understand the cause.
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