BIOLOGISTS PLAN CONDOR RELEASE IN GRAND CANYON.Byline: Catherine Dold The New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of Times California condors, the largest land birds in North America North America, third largest continent (1990 est. pop. 365,000,000), c.9,400,000 sq mi (24,346,000 sq km), the northern of the two continents of the Western Hemisphere. , may soon be soaring over the Grand Canyon Grand Canyon, great gorge of the Colorado River, one of the natural wonders of the world; c.1 mi (1.6 km) deep, from 4 to 18 mi (6.4–29 km) wide, and 217 mi (349 km) long, NW Ariz. . As the second major step in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's recovery plan for the endangered condor condor, common name for certain American vultures, found in the high peaks of the Andes of South America and the Coast Range of S California. Condors are the largest of the living birds, nearly 50 in. , biologists proposed last week to release nine captive-bred birds in the Vermilion Cliffs The Vermilion Cliffs are the second "step" up in the five-step Grand Staircase of the Colorado Plateau. Reddish or vermilion-colored cliffs are found along U.S. Highway 89 and U.S. Highway 89A near Kanab, Utah (and near Navajo Bridge in Arizona). area just north of the canyon in April. Since 1992, 27 captive-bred birds have been released in California, and 13 are still living in the wild. "It's extremely exciting," Robert Mesta, the recovery plan coordinator, said of the proposed release. "The key to recovery is to get a lot of birds out in a lot of different areas. This is the next chapter." California condors, which dwell on cliffs, have been on the endangered list since 1967. Biologists discovered in the early 1980s that the wild population had fallen perilously close to extinction and decided to capture all the birds and start a captive breeding captive breeding mating programs designed for use with animals kept in captivity. See also hand mating. program. The last wild-born condor was captured in 1987. Although some feared that taking all birds out of the wild could mean the end of the species if the captive breeding plans failed, the birds adapted well. By 1991, they had produced enough chicks that "surplus" birds - those not needed to maintain the gene pool - were available for release. The first releases were not without problems, Mesta said. One bird died after drinking antifreeze antifreeze, substance added to a solvent to lower its freezing point. The solution formed is called an antifreeze mixture. Antifreeze is typically added to water in the cooling system of an internal-combustion engine so that it may be cooled below the freezing point , and others died in collisions with power lines. Others had to be recaptured after they became fond of human handouts. Those early experiences convinced the biologists that the birds needed more help in the wild, so they began teaching them survival skills. Biologists taught the birds to steer clear of the poles by delivering a mild electric shock to birds who landed on fake power poles in their flight pens. To teach the birds to stay away from people, the biologists taught them to associate humans with chaos. |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion