CONDOR INQUIRY CONTINUES SUSPECT COULD FACE JAIL TIME.

Byline: Bill Becher Special to the Daily News

A Tehachapi man might face state and federal charges that could lead to a year in prison and a $100,000 fine if he is convicted of knowingly killing a wild California condor while hunting at the Tejon Ranch.

Sources familiar with the incident say when the dead condor, protected under the federal Endangered Species Act, was found dead Feb. 13, the investigation was made easier because access to the ranch near Bakersfield is controlled, limiting the number of suspects.

But no charges have been filed or arrests made. Jim Nickles, a spokesperson for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Sacramento, said the official investigation is ongoing.

Denise Stockton, of the Hooper Mountain National Wildlife Refuge near Fillmore that was created to help the re-introduction of condors into the wild in California, was with the group of biologists who examined the dead bird.

``I was thinking it was really sad,'' Stockton said. ``She hadn't been dead very long and looked to be in very good condition.''

The female condor, known as Adult Condor 8 or AC8, was one of only nine original wild California condors remaining in the world. Believed to be more than 30 years old, she spent 14 years at the San Diego Wild Animal Park and the Los Angeles Zoo after being captured as part of the captive breeding program that was established to save condors from extinction. AC8 produced at least 16 offspring, including nine eggs that hatched while she was in captivity.

The bird, with a nine-foot wingspan, was re-introduced to the Sespe Condor Sanctuary in 2000 to help young condors bred in captivity learn to cope with life in the wild. But she contracted lead poisoning in 2002 and was recaptured and sent to the Los Angeles Zoo's condor care and breeding facility.

Susie Kasielke, curator of birds at the Los Angeles Zoo, said AC8 came into the zoo last November sick with a high level of lead in her blood. After treatment, she was released Dec. 23.

``We are always devastated when we lose a bird,'' Kasielke said. ``This was a very significant bird. It's a huge loss.''

Despite the loss, Kasielke does not blame hunters as a group.

``(Hunting) is not something we're at all opposed to,'' Kasielke said. ``We are opposed to illegal shooting of endangered species.

``That's what makes it so difficult. People have a misperception that conserving endangered species and shooting sports are at odds, and they're not. Hunters are some of our best conservationists.''

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Condor AC8, protected under the federal Endangered Species Act, was found dead Feb. 13 at Tejon Ranch in Bakersfield.

Scott Frier/Special to the Daily News