Sara Rubin here, planning to go for a hike today in the Santa Lucia Mountains and, as always, will keep my eyes peeled for California condors. It’s unusual but not shocking to see these magnificent birds soaring, recognizable for their massive wingspan (up to 9-and-a-half feet) and the distinctive white feathers on the bottom of their wings, as well as the colored tags they wear. Because this species has been brought back from the edge of extinction, one egg at a time, by conservation biologists, they are closely monitored and scientists are keeping track of them.
The story of the California condor stands in contrast to many that we hear about species on the brink. Instead of continued decline, there are now about 364 condors in the wild, up from just 22 in 1982.
But the journey toward being self-sustaining is not complete. As I learned in reporting this week’s cover story, there are three main pillars conservation biologists use to judge whether a species is self-sustaining: representation, redundancy and resilience. Those generally refer to distinct populations, ensuring genetic diversity (check); a birth rate sufficient to replenish animals (check); and a death rate that is not outpacing births.
That last one is a problem for condors due to the presence of lead in the environment. Although it is illegal in California to hunt with lead ammunition, the lack of availability of certain calibers makes it pretty much impossible for hunters to comply. As scavengers, condors are especially susceptible to lead poisoning—that’s where Ventana Wildlife Society’s surprising turn to becoming a licensed ammunition vendor and advocate for loosening California's restrictions on background checks for ammunition purchases comes in. (You can read more about all of these elements of the condor conservation saga in the story.)
In my reporting, I also asked biologists who are working on condor conservation: Why should we care about condors and their survival?
Mike Stake of VWS had a few answers to this question, from the practical to the philosophical. One: There’s the biological role of scavengers that benefits humans by minimizing the presence of viruses like rabies. Two: Condors can be an agent of economic development, with the tourism industry promoting the opportunity to see North America’s biggest bird. Three, he says, is the “moral aspect.”
“When you treat someone badly, you feel bad about yourself until you apologize and make it right,” Stake says. “With the condor, this is a human-caused situation. We have an obligation to make things right. If the condor is threatened all because of human causes and we can do something about it, I think we benefit by doing something about it.”
I agree. Sometimes the causes of environmental disaster feels very diffuse, and our role in it is hard to pinpoint and our impact can feel like too little, too late. But when it comes to the survival of an entire species, every hunter can make a choice with every bullet they load and help reverse a catastrophe.