Critically endangered California condors are dying at an alarming rate this year, conservationists report.
Ventana Wildlife Society has recorded 12 condor deaths in 2021 so far.
After testing, the wildlife sanctuary discovered that eight out of the twelve birds had died from lead poisoning, with the remaining four awaiting cause-of-death results, SFGATE reported.
In 1982 California condors were almost extinct. In 1997, the Ventana Wildlife Society began releasing captive-bred California Condors to revive the population in central California. Now, lead poisoning is threatening this restoration.
Condors are scavengers which feed on carcasses. Those carcasses are often contaminated by lead bullets.
Ventana provides non-lead carcasses for the birds and they regularly treat condors suffering from high levels of lead in their blood. However, the 12 deaths is the highest number they’ve seen in years.
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