Via the Natural Resources Defense Council:

Urge wildlife officials to protect the California condor

The California condor, the symbol of the Golden State, is North America’s largest bird. This iconic species is also one of the most endangered animals on earth. Today there are 138 condors in the wild, 61 of which fly free in California.

One of the leading causes of condor deaths is lead poisoning, which occurs when these birds accidentally ingest lead bullet fragments found in their prey. Lead poisoning has caused nine confirmed condor deaths since 1992 and has been implicated in the death or disappearance of at least 15 more condors. Other birds, such as golden and bald eagles, are also susceptible to lead contamination from ingesting lead fragments in ammunition.

The California Department of Fish and Game is considering changing its hunting regulations to ban lead ammunition in counties with condor populations. Such a ban would help protect these birds and others from lead contamination and bring them back from the brink of extinction.

Send a message urging to the California Fish and Game Commission to adopt regulations that would ban the use of lead ammunition in counties where condors live.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 11th, 2006 at 12:49 pm and is filed under Action Alerts, Conservation (Wildlife), from NRDC. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.