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In California, the condor could have disappeared in the 1970s, due to pollution. This was without counting the creation of a unique program in the world. Today, more than 300 birds are once again flying over Arizona.
The condor, still threatened with extinction 40 years ago, was saved by a unique program. Once every six months, biologists come in groups to the Bitter Creek refuge on the high plains of California (United States). Inside an aviary, condors will soon be released into the wild. With their three-meter wingspan, they are difficult to catch. Only two spaces exist on earth: the Andean condors, and those of California. They are handled like living treasures by scientists. “Their necks and beaks are very powerful, to be able to tear off the heads of carcasses”, explains Arianna Punzalan, chief biologist.
Blood tests, tagging and wound care, emblematic birds will be monitored throughout their lives. At the end of the 1970s, victims of pollution, space was dying out. “This program is certainly unique. In the 1980s, the 23 birds surviving in the wild were all captured, and placed in a captive rescue program.”, explains the biologist. Today, more than 300 condors live in freedom in California, but also in Mexico, Utah and Arizona.