A California Condor was apparently ill (with suspected lead poisoning) so it was brought in for treatment. It was then discovered that it had been shot some time earlier .
Unable to eat on its own, the condor was under intensive care at the Los Angeles Zoo and its prognosis was guarded, said Susie Kasielke, curator of birds.
X-rays taken at the zoo turned up shotgun pellets embedded in its flesh, she said. Those wounds had healed.
It could not be determined if the pellets were lead or steel, but the poisoning was most likely caused by the bird ingesting spent lead ammunition in carcasses of animals that had been shot by hunters, Kasielke said.
Yahoo
- Log in to post comments
More like this
Hunters should be allies of conservationists—in the best situations, hunting and wildlife groups have been great advocates of preserving habitat, which is the core issue, I think, in protecting biodiversity. If they're doing it so they can go in and blow away a few big meaty game animals, well, OK……
tags: Birds in the News, BirdNews, ornithology, birds, avian, newsletter
The only egg known to be collected by Charles Darwin, recently rediscovered.
Image: University of Cambridge.
Birds and American Law
The American Federation of Aviculture Inc. (AFA), the Avicultural Society of America (ASA…
tags: Birds in the News, BirdNews, ornithology, birds, avian, newsletter
Wren (known as the "Winter Wren" in the United States), Troglodytes troglodytes, photographed near the Bridge of Orchy, Scotland.
Image: Dave Rintoul, Summer 2008. [larger view].
Birds in Science and Technology
What…
tags: teratornis, Argentavis magnificens, birds, ornithology, giant bird
Dr. Kenneth E. Campbell, (one of the discoverers) in front of the 25 ft. wingspan Argentavis magnificens. Display from the Natural History Museum, Los Angeles. The feather size from such a bird is estimated to have been 1.5…
Lead shot is one of those things that suggests that hunters don't love nature as much as they say they do.