linda040899
09-17-2005, 12:20 PM
Cross-posted with permission from Birdy-Hobbyist Bird-Breeder
Subject: California Condor Dies of West Nile Virus
For Immediate Release September 13, 2005
CONTACTS: Fish and Wildlife Service, Hopper Mountain
National Wildlife Refuge Complex: Denise Stockton, Jesse
Grantham or Marc Weitzel, (805)
644-5185, Zoological Society of San Diego (619) 685-3291
California Condor Dies of West Nile Virus
A three month old wild-hatched California condor chick that
died September 25 has tested positive for West Nile Virus.Nest
watchers reported a rapid decline in the health of the three
month old chick and a team of biologists, a veterinarian and
condor keeper attempted to retrieve it from the nest, however
it died before it could be treated. The dead chick was
promptly sent to the Pathology Department at the San Diego Zoo
for a necropsy. The cause of death is believed to be infection
with West Nile Virus, complicated by secondary fungal
pneumonia.
The condor chick hatched in the wild in Ventura County,
California on May 19 of this year. Both parent birds were
inoculated with a West Nile Vaccine in June of 2003 and again
in June of 2004. With the exception of chicks hatched in the
wild all California condors in captivity and in the wild have
been inoculated at least once with a vaccine developed
especially for condors called DNA West Nile Vaccine. The
condors have not had any adverse reactions to the vaccine and
subsequent blood tests have shown antibodies in their blood, a
sign that the immune system is responding to fight off the
disease.
"We know through testing on captive condors that maternal
immunity is transferred to the chicks, what we didn?t know was
how long it lasted. Because this chick died at just 3 months
of age we will attempt to vaccinate wild-hatched chicks in
their nests. This will have to be done on a case by case basis
providing the nests are accessible," stated Marc Weitzel,
Project Leader for Hopper Mountain National Wildlife Refuge
Complex, which administers the California Condor Recovery
Program.
One other wild chick was hatched in California this year; it
was removed from the nest when it appeared to be
underdeveloped for its age. The chick had ingested trash
(small bits of plastic, metal and glass as well as fabric);
the chick underwent surgery to remove the trash and may be
released next spring. Trash has been found in several other
chicks and has caused the death of two chicks since 2001 when
California condors first began breeding in the wild. The first
wild chick to survive past fledging in California hatched last
year. Three chicks have successfully fledged in Arizona and
two additional wild condor chicks hatched this year in Arizona
are expected to fledge by November.
There are 125 condors now living in the wild in California,
Arizona and Baja, Mexico and 151 in captivity at the Los
Angeles Zoo, San Diego Wild Animal Park, the Oregon Zoo and
the Peregrine Fund?s World Center for Birds of Prey in Boise,
Idaho. The goal of the California Condor Recovery Plan is to
establish two geographically separate populations, one in
California and the other in Arizona, each with 150 birds and
at least 15 breeding pairs.
The largest bird in North America, condors are scavengers that
have soared over mountainous areas of California since
prehistoric times, but their numbers plummeted in the 20th
Century. Condor numbers declined in part due to loss of
habitat and food and from shooting, lead poisoning and toxic
substances used to poison predators. Condors were listed as an
endangered species in 1967, under a law that pre-dated the
existing Endangered Species Act. In 1982, the condor
population reached its lowest level of 22 birds, prompting
biologists to start collecting chicks and eggs for a captive
breeding program. By late 1984, only 15 condors remained in
the wild. After seven condors died in rapid succession, it was
decided to bring the remaining birds in from the wild for the
captive breeding program. In 1992, the Recovery Program began
releasing California condors back into the wild.
The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service is responsible for
coordinating the conservation of the California condor,
working with the Los Padres National Forest, California
Department of Fish and Game, and several private partners.
Private organizations and institutions are not just interested
observers, but are active and essential participants in the
implementation of the recovery program, contributing
personnel, expertise, institutional support, and funding.
California condor captive breeding programs are operated at
San Diego Wild Animal Park, Los Angeles Zoo, The Peregrine
Fund's World Center for Birds of Prey and most recently the
Oregon Zoo. Release programs in California are managed by
Ventana Wilderness Society, The US Park Service at Pinnacles
National Monument and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Hopper
Mountain National Wildlife Refuge; the Arizona release is
managed by The Peregrine Fund: and the Baja release site by
the Zoological Society of San Diego.
The U.S Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal Federal
agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing
fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the
continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages
the 95-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System, which
encompasses 545 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small
wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates
69 national fish hatcheries, 64 Fish and Wildlife Management
offices and 81 ecological services field stations. The agency
enforces federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered
Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores
nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores
wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign and
Native American tribal governments with their conservation
efforts. It also oversees the Federal Assistance program,
which distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise
taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and
wildlife agencies.
For more information about the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
and condors, visit our home page at
http://hoppermountain.fws.gov (http://hoppermountain.fws.gov/)
Subject: California Condor Dies of West Nile Virus
For Immediate Release September 13, 2005
CONTACTS: Fish and Wildlife Service, Hopper Mountain
National Wildlife Refuge Complex: Denise Stockton, Jesse
Grantham or Marc Weitzel, (805)
644-5185, Zoological Society of San Diego (619) 685-3291
California Condor Dies of West Nile Virus
A three month old wild-hatched California condor chick that
died September 25 has tested positive for West Nile Virus.Nest
watchers reported a rapid decline in the health of the three
month old chick and a team of biologists, a veterinarian and
condor keeper attempted to retrieve it from the nest, however
it died before it could be treated. The dead chick was
promptly sent to the Pathology Department at the San Diego Zoo
for a necropsy. The cause of death is believed to be infection
with West Nile Virus, complicated by secondary fungal
pneumonia.
The condor chick hatched in the wild in Ventura County,
California on May 19 of this year. Both parent birds were
inoculated with a West Nile Vaccine in June of 2003 and again
in June of 2004. With the exception of chicks hatched in the
wild all California condors in captivity and in the wild have
been inoculated at least once with a vaccine developed
especially for condors called DNA West Nile Vaccine. The
condors have not had any adverse reactions to the vaccine and
subsequent blood tests have shown antibodies in their blood, a
sign that the immune system is responding to fight off the
disease.
"We know through testing on captive condors that maternal
immunity is transferred to the chicks, what we didn?t know was
how long it lasted. Because this chick died at just 3 months
of age we will attempt to vaccinate wild-hatched chicks in
their nests. This will have to be done on a case by case basis
providing the nests are accessible," stated Marc Weitzel,
Project Leader for Hopper Mountain National Wildlife Refuge
Complex, which administers the California Condor Recovery
Program.
One other wild chick was hatched in California this year; it
was removed from the nest when it appeared to be
underdeveloped for its age. The chick had ingested trash
(small bits of plastic, metal and glass as well as fabric);
the chick underwent surgery to remove the trash and may be
released next spring. Trash has been found in several other
chicks and has caused the death of two chicks since 2001 when
California condors first began breeding in the wild. The first
wild chick to survive past fledging in California hatched last
year. Three chicks have successfully fledged in Arizona and
two additional wild condor chicks hatched this year in Arizona
are expected to fledge by November.
There are 125 condors now living in the wild in California,
Arizona and Baja, Mexico and 151 in captivity at the Los
Angeles Zoo, San Diego Wild Animal Park, the Oregon Zoo and
the Peregrine Fund?s World Center for Birds of Prey in Boise,
Idaho. The goal of the California Condor Recovery Plan is to
establish two geographically separate populations, one in
California and the other in Arizona, each with 150 birds and
at least 15 breeding pairs.
The largest bird in North America, condors are scavengers that
have soared over mountainous areas of California since
prehistoric times, but their numbers plummeted in the 20th
Century. Condor numbers declined in part due to loss of
habitat and food and from shooting, lead poisoning and toxic
substances used to poison predators. Condors were listed as an
endangered species in 1967, under a law that pre-dated the
existing Endangered Species Act. In 1982, the condor
population reached its lowest level of 22 birds, prompting
biologists to start collecting chicks and eggs for a captive
breeding program. By late 1984, only 15 condors remained in
the wild. After seven condors died in rapid succession, it was
decided to bring the remaining birds in from the wild for the
captive breeding program. In 1992, the Recovery Program began
releasing California condors back into the wild.
The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service is responsible for
coordinating the conservation of the California condor,
working with the Los Padres National Forest, California
Department of Fish and Game, and several private partners.
Private organizations and institutions are not just interested
observers, but are active and essential participants in the
implementation of the recovery program, contributing
personnel, expertise, institutional support, and funding.
California condor captive breeding programs are operated at
San Diego Wild Animal Park, Los Angeles Zoo, The Peregrine
Fund's World Center for Birds of Prey and most recently the
Oregon Zoo. Release programs in California are managed by
Ventana Wilderness Society, The US Park Service at Pinnacles
National Monument and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Hopper
Mountain National Wildlife Refuge; the Arizona release is
managed by The Peregrine Fund: and the Baja release site by
the Zoological Society of San Diego.
The U.S Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal Federal
agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing
fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the
continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages
the 95-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System, which
encompasses 545 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small
wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates
69 national fish hatcheries, 64 Fish and Wildlife Management
offices and 81 ecological services field stations. The agency
enforces federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered
Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores
nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores
wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign and
Native American tribal governments with their conservation
efforts. It also oversees the Federal Assistance program,
which distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise
taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and
wildlife agencies.
For more information about the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
and condors, visit our home page at
http://hoppermountain.fws.gov (http://hoppermountain.fws.gov/)