Rare California condor found dead in ‘very troubling’ poaching, Colorado officials say

A critically endangered California condor was found dead in a remote area of Colorado, and wildlife officials are on the hunt for information that leads to the poacher responsible.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are asking the public for help with information about the poaching after officials found the bird 24 hours after it was shot and killed in March, officials said in a news release.

It was in a remote area northeast of the town of Lewis and west of McPhee Reservoir in Montezuma County, and because previous leads haven’t yielded results, the agencies are seeking help from the public, officials said.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife Southwest Region shared the same request in a Wednesday, Sept. 4 post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

“This incident from our region is very troubling,” the agency said in the post. “If you know something, have heard something, please reach out and say something. Your information could lead to a reward.”

Anyone with information can report it by calling the agency’s Game Thief Hotline at 1-877-COLO-OGT (1-877-265-6648), or emailing game.thief@state.co.us or submitting a tip online .

They can also call the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service tip line at 844-397-8477 or submit a tip online .

“The historical California condor population declined to just 22 individuals in the wild by 1987,” Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials said. “Currently, the California Condor Recovery Program , led by the USFWS, works with many partners to increase populations through captive breeding and release of these protected birds. As of June 2024, there are 85 condors in the wild in the rugged canyon country of northern Arizona and southern Utah.”

Populations declined in 2023 “due to impacts from the highly pathogenic avian influenza ,” officials said. “The total world population of endangered California condors’ numbers are more than 560 individuals, with more than half flying free in Arizona, Utah, California, and Mexico.”

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