A juvenile California condor lands at the Ventana Wildlife Society’s Condor Sanctuary in Big Sur, California, Friday, November 18, 2022. (Photo: Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)

A famous species that is slowly recovering from the brink of extinction, the California Condor, America’s largest bird, faces a new threat.

At least 18 birds have died from the highly contagious avian flu in the past month around the Grand Canyon in Arizona. And now, biologists in California are scrambling to address what could be a devastating setback if condors in Big Sur or elsewhere in the state become infected.

“The disease is progressing rapidly, but vaccine development remains a challenge,” said Kelly Sorenson, executive director of the Ventana Wildlife Society, a nonprofit that has released condors into the wild around Big Sur and San Simeon since 1997. We are not progressing.” We are in a very difficult position. ”

“We are preparing for the worst scenario,” he added. “It could have a devastating effect on the population.”

As of Tuesday, officials were recording 363 cases This was more than any other state except Minnesota and Florida, which had 566 and 415.

In California, bald eagles, golden eagles, turkeys, ducks, geese, ravens, gulls, thunderings, grebes, and other birds have died from the disease, which occurs in most Bay Area counties. So far, no infected condors have been found in the Golden State. It wasn’t known that bird flu killed condors until March 20, when the first bird died in the Grand Canyon.

If the disease spreads across California, scientists say they could start hunting condors in the wild to protect them until a vaccine is developed.

“It’s really not a great option,” says Sorenson. “Simply put, it’s not something they enjoy. But it’s better than losing a lot of birds. We try to be prepared for every scenario.”

Sorenson’s organization this week purchased ten large 12-foot-long steel enclosures to care for the nine-foot-wingspan condors.

The pen is located on land donated by the Monterey County SPCA along Highway 68 between Salinas and Monterey.

Condors once ranged from British Columbia to Mexico. But habitat loss, hunting, and lead poisoning reduced the majestic bird to just 22 nationally by his early 1980s.

In a desperate gamble to stop extinction, federal biologists captured all remaining wild condors in 1987 and began breeding them at the Los Angeles Zoo, San Diego Zoo, and other facilities. The bird’s descendants are gradually being released back into the wild near Big Sur, the Grand Canyon, Pinnacles National Park in Kern County, Baja, Mexico, and most recently Redwood National Park. hatched in 2007, and today there are 561 California Condors, 347 of which are in the wild.

according to U.S. Fish and Wildlife ServiceOn March 9, employees of the Peregrine Fund, a nonprofit that manages a herd of 116 wild condors that fly over the Grand Canyon and parts of Utah, saw a sick-looking female condor. .

Lead poisoning, they believed, was a common cause of death in deer and other animal-eating condors shot by hunters and ranchers, ingesting bullet fragments.

On March 20th they found the bird dead under the nest. Tests confirmed that the animal had died of highly pathogenic avian influenza, a type of “bird flu” that has killed millions of chickens and wild birds worldwide.

As of Wednesday, 18 condors in the Grand Canyon area have died, six are confirmed to have died from the disease, and another 12 are suspected to have died from the disease. Another five of his are in veterinary care and are being tested for what veterinarians and biologists call “HPAI.”

The 18 deaths represent nearly one in six condors in Arizona and Utah, and more than the total number of deaths from lead poisoning in all western North American locations where wild condors have been released in the past four years. increase. .

Scientists believe the condors were exposed through contact with wild birds, possibly migrating from South America.

A particular strain of the disease, known as H5N1, is considered a low risk human health concern, according to the Centers for Disease Control. It can spread rapidly through contamination with bird faeces. The virus can also spread through exposed clothing, shoes, and vehicles.

“It’s terrifying,” said Ashley Blackford, California Condor Coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. “This is a program that people put a lot of time into in this recovery effort. It’s a monumental blow in such a short time. It’s how quickly you can back off.”

Scientists are still learning about the disease, how it spreads, and how to care for condors that may have been infected, Blackford said.

“This is like the first two weeks when COVID first came out,” she said. “Things are moving fast. We don’t have enough data, but we’re collecting it fast.”

Biologists working with condors take precautions such as wearing protective coveralls, washing their shoes, and not feeding them dead animals.

Central California’s population of 94 wild condors is still recovering after 12 endangered condors died in the 2020 Dolan Fire in Big Sur.

But Thursday it was unclear what steps San Benito County’s Pinnacles National Park was taking to prepare for the spread of the disease to a herd of 29 condors. Calling the media office, spokesman Nerman Horn said park scientists would not be available for interviews on Thursday, saying all national parks must have a coordinated message to the public. Said there was.

Sorenson expressed concern about the threat in California. “Lead poisoning was the biggest threat to seed recovery,” he said. “But condors are very social and this is very worrying because the disease is highly contagious.”