condors (Gymnogyps californianus) are
the largest flying land bird in North America.
Condors are members of New World vultures,
Family Cathartidae, and are opportunistic
scavengers that feed primarily on large dead
mammals such as deer, elk, bighorn sheep,
range cattle, and horses. Condors have a
wingspan of 9 ½ feet, and can weigh up to
25 pounds as adults. Using thermal updrafts,
condors can soar and glide up to 50 miles
per hour and travel 100 miles or more per
day in search of food. California condors
are not sexually dimorphic like a majority
of raptors, i.e., males and females are identical
in size and plumage. Adult condors are primarily
black except for bleach white feathers in
a triangle-shape pattern beneath their wings
(underwing covert feathers). These patches
are highly visible when condors are flying
overhead and are a key identification characteristic.
Adult condors have pinkish-orange featherless
heads, ivory colored bills, and the sclera
of the eye is red. Juvenile condors are also
mostly black with underwing coverts that
are mottled gray in color also but triangular
shaped like adults. Juvenile condors have
dark colored heads until they are about 3
to 4 years old when the head starts to turn
pink. The juvenile bill is black and changes
to an ivory as the bird matures.
Condors are long-lived species with low reproductive rates. They can live
up to 60 years in the wild, and become sexually mature at six or seven
years of age. Condors mate for life and females lay a single egg, about
five inches in length and weighing around 10 ounces, every other year.
Male and female condors share incubation shifts. Condors are cavity-nesting
birds. Most nest sites have been found in caves, on rock ledges, or in
tree cavities. Condors do not build nests; instead, the egg is deposited
on the floor of the cave, ledge, or tree. The egg hatches after about 56
days of incubation and both parents share responsibilities for feeding
the nestling by regurgitation. Young condors fledge at five to six months
of age, but may stay in the nesting area for up to one year.
In prehistoric times, condors ranged from Canada to Mexico, across the
southern United States to Florida, and on the east coast in New York. During
this period, condors were a common resident of the Grand Canyon based on
bones, feathers and eggshells found in caves where they nested. A dramatic
range reduction occurred about 10,000 years ago, coinciding with the late
Pleistocene extinction of large mammals such as mastodon, giant sloth,
camels, and saber-toothed cats that condors fed on. By the time Europeans
arrived in western North America, condors had retreated to a stronghold
along the Pacific coast from British Columbia to Baja California. The birds
managed to maintain a strong population perhaps due to large sea mammals
that washed upon shore, however, the settlement of the west, shooting,
poisoning from lead and DDT, egg collecting, and general habitat degradation
began to take a heavy toll. Between the mid- 1880s and 1924, there were
scattered reports of condors in Arizona with the last sighting near Williams
Arizona in 1924. By the late 1930s, all remaining condors were found only
in California and by 1982, the total population had dwindled to just 22
birds. The only hope was to begin captive breeding of California condors
and to initiate reintroduction of the species. Reintroduction of captive
bred condors began in 1992 in California, and 1996 in Arizona.
| In order
to be downlisted from Endangered to Threatened,
The Recovery Goals of the California Condor
Program are as follows:
Maintenance of at least 2 wild populations
Maintenance of one captive population
Each population must:
at least 150 individuals
contain at least 15 breeding pairs
reproductively self sustaining
a positive rate of population growth
Non-captive populations must:
spatially disjunct and non-interacting
descendents from each of the 14 founders
cavity-nesting species that require caves,
ledges, or large trees in order to nest.
High perches are necessary for roosting,
as well as to create the strong updrafts
required for lift into flight. Open grasslands
or savannahs are important to condors while
searching for food. In Arizona, condors are
found at elevations between 2,000-8,000 feet,
and the reintroduction site is located in
the northern part of the state on Vermilion
The Vermilion cliffs are rugged sandstone cliffs located on public land
administered by the Bureau of Land Management. These cliffs are located
on the Paria Plateau and provide the necessary remoteness, ridges, ledges,
and caves favored by condors. The Paria Plateau is typified by Great Basin
Conifer Woodland, dominated by juniper (Juniperus spp.) and pinyon (Pinus
spp.) Great Basin Desertscrub occurs along the Vermilion Cliffs and is
dominated by sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) and rabbitbrush (Chrysothamnus
spp.). Species diversity is low, with shrubs occurring more frequently
than woodland or forest.
distribution is limited to three major reintroduction
sites. These include reserves in California
located in Ventura, Santa Barbara, Kern,
Monterey and San Luis Obispo counties. In
northern Arizona, condors are located primarily
near the Vermilion cliffs and Grand Canyon.
A third reintroduction area was added in
2002, which is located in a remote area of
Baja California, Mexico.
To view the condor release site in Arizona, drive north on Highway 89 out
of Flagstaff, Arizona. Turn left onto Highway 89A toward Jacob Lake and
the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Drive approximately 40 miles (past Marble
Canyon, Vermilion Cliffs, and Cliff Dwellers), turn right onto House Rock
Valley Road (BLM Road 1065) just past the House Rock Valley Chain Up Area.
Travel approximately 2-3 miles to a condor kiosk and shaded viewing area
right. Atop the cliffs to your east is the location where condors are released,
and a good place to see condors year round. In winter months, condors frequent
the Colorado River corridor near Marble Canyon and in summer months, condors
are seen frequently at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.
condors are one of the most endangered
birds in the world. They were placed on
the federal endangered species list in
1967. In Arizona, reintroduction was conducted
under a special provision of the Endangered
Species Act that allows for the designation
of a nonessential experimental population.
Under this designation (referred to as
the 10(j) rule) the protections for an
endangered species are relaxed, providing
greater flexibility for management of a
a result of the continued downward spiral
of the condor population in the 1980's,
one of the longest wildlife recovery efforts
ever attempted began. The U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service began a captive breeding
program in 1980, teaming with the Los Angeles
Zoo and the San Diego Wild Animal Park.
In 1987, a controversial decision was made
to bring all remaining condors (22 individuals)
into captivity and the last wild bird was
captured on April 19, 1987.
All hope for condor recovery was now
placed on captive breeding programs,
and the task
was formidable. Because recruitment into
the population is very low, captive breeding
techniques were developed in which eggs
are removed as they are laid, usually
the captive condors to lay a second and
sometimes third egg. The extra eggs
are incubated and chicks are raised
using a hand puppet shaped like a parent
condor head. The puppet prevents the
condors from imprinting on people. Condor
chicks that are not raised by puppets,
raised by their parent birds. As a result
of captive breeding, condor populations
have increased dramatically from 22 birds
in 1987 to more than 270 birds in 2005.
Numbers (updated March 2011)
Captive bred condors were released back
into the wild in California beginning in
January 1992. Today, about 100 condors fly
free in designated California sanctuaries.
With recovery going well in California,
management efforts turned to the establishment
of a second geographically separate condor
population in Arizona. This effort would
offer insurance against loss of the species
through a single catastrophic event, and
return condors to an additional portion
of its historic range. Beginning in 1985,
discussions began in The Arizona Game and
Fish Department's Nongame Branch to determine
the feasibility of reintroducing California
condors in Arizona. By 1989, potential release
sites were being surveyed and regular scoping
meetings with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service had begun. In 1994, The Vermilion
Cliffs were identified as the best release
Reintroduction efforts were now in high
gear in Arizona, and another major project
partner joined; The Peregrine Fund, a private,
non-profit conservation organization headquartered
in Boise, Idaho. In 1993, The Peregrine
Fund was selected to conduct the on-the-ground
releases, daily monitoring and feeding of
condors, and provide a third captive breeding
facility. Other cooperators included the
Utah Department of Natural Resources, the
Phoenix, Los Angeles and San Diego Zoos,
the Hualapai Tribe, the Navajo Nation, Glen
Canyon National Recreation Area, Grand Canyon
National Park and the Kaibab National Forest.
Also involved were Parker Dairy, Rovey Dairy,
and Mountain Shadows Dairy that donated
stillborn calves for condor food.
In October 1996 six birds were transferred
from captive breeding facilities to an acclimation
pen on top of the Vermilion Cliffs. Before
release each condor was fitted with two
radio transmitters and individual number
tags. Transmitters and number tags were
affixed to the patagium (a section of skin
and tendons that lies along the leading
edge of the wing) of each condor's wing.
On December 12, 1996 six condors were released
atop the Vermilion cliffs. This was the
first time condors had been seen in Arizona
since the early 1900's.
Since December of 1996, program personnel
have soft-released approximately 6-10 birds
per year. Each condor carries two radio
transmitters (conventional and/or satellite
transmitters) and are monitored daily by
up to 10 field biologists. There are now
over 70 condors flying free in Arizona.
try to approach or feed condors. Use
binoculars and spotting scopes to observe
condors from a distance.
stop, excessively slow down, or view
condors on Highway 89A. Use pullouts
along the road to search for and view
observe anyone harassing or harming
a condor, immediately call:
The Arizona Game and Fish Department:(928) 774-5045
The Peregrine Fund: (928) 355-2270
Bureau of Land Management: (435) 688-3200
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: (602) 640-2720
Grand Canyon National Park:(928) 638-7779
Status of the Arizona program:
daily monitoring of condors.
2) Addition of more satellite and GPS transmitters.
3) Expansion of the 10(j) area.
4) Establish a medical treatment facility near the release site.
5) Continued education programs on condor reintroduction.
California Condor Project Coordinator
3500 South Lake Mary Road
Flagstaff, AZ 86001