Five California condors will be released in the Arizona-Utah flock later this month. It's the second release since bird flu killed 20% of the flock in 2023.
The new condors were hatched and raised at the Oregon and San Diego Zoos and will join the nearly 90 other birds in the regional group.
The state’s Game and Fish Department says they will be released at the Peregrine Fund’s Vermillion Cliffs facility south of the Utah border on Sept. 27.
Most condors live in Utah’s high country, but the White Sage Fire in northern Arizona still affected the birds. The Fund had to relocate three condors from the facility.
Officials warn condors may be viewed in unusual locations due to less food to scavenge after the fire. Conservation efforts will focus on lead poisoning from bullets now that smoke has cleared from the area.
EDITOR'S NOTE: This story has been republished to update the number of California condors in the regional group.
-
The University of Arizona Cooperative Extension is in touch with Arizona ranchers to protect against the deadly parasite. -
Maricopa County health officials have recorded the first West Nile virus-related death of the season. And the rate of confirmed cases is also up from this time last year. -
The updated code prohibits people from keeping or feeding non-domesticated birds, like pigeons, in a way that causes a public nuisance. -
Cattle from Mexico have been barred from the United States for most the past year to prevent the parasite from entering. Ranchers in Sonora say this method was a mistake. -
The move comes after a nearly yearlong ban of Mexican cattle into the United States to protect against the New World screwworm parasite.
