First California condor to fledge in Zion National Park dies of lead poisoning

The first California condor to hatch and take flight in Zion National Park died of lead poisoning just shy of its fifth birthday.

Dubbed “1K” in 2020 because it was the 1,000th bird trapped and tagged since the start of the California condor recovery program in the 1980s, its radio tag indicated the young male had stopped moving last March. Biologists traversed several miles through rugged terrain in a remote canyon to locate the bird. Necropsy results confirmed the cause of death as lead poisoning, according to the The Peregrine Fund.

The conservation group along with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Zion National Park announced the death Monday.

“1K’s death is a tragedy because it was premature and preventable,” Shawn Farry, The Peregrine Fund’s California condor program manager said in a press release. “He was still in his awkward teenage years, with his head color starting to change from black to orange. He was only a year or two away from finding a lifelong mate and becoming a breeder. Like all condors, 1K was charismatic, often goofy, making it difficult not to form an emotional attachment to him. He had a wonderful way of endearing staff and visitors to the condor and its story, and for that, he will be missed by so many who were lucky to catch a glimpse of 1K soaring through Zion Canyon.”

The condor, which boasted a 9 1/2-foot wingspan, was a popular attraction, with merchandise and informative signs throughout the park celebrating it as a symbol of hope for the recovery of the species.

The California condor was declared an endangered species in 1967, and by 1982, only 22 condors survived in the wild, according to the California Condor Recovery Program . The remaining condors were captured as part of a breeding program aimed at saving the species.

How lead poisoning kills condors

Lead poisoning remains the leading cause of diagnosed death among California condors. Just under half of diagnosed fatalities are attributed to lead poisoning since releases began in California in 1992, the group said. They are particularly vulnerable to lead poisoning because they are “obligate scavengers,” meaning they are limited to feeding upon the remains of dead animals. When remains of shot animals like deer, elk, livestock or other game species are left to rot, scavengers will efficiently clean up the remains.

While that’s a good thing, if those carcasses contain fragments from lead-based ammunition, scavengers can unknowingly consume lead, become sick, and sometimes die. Lead poisoning can result in serious illness ranging from lethargy and weakness to paralysis of the digestive tract leading to the inability to process food and water, according to The Peregrine Fund. About 90% of condors trapped and tested during this past year had blood lead levels that indicated lead exposure.

One of 1K’s siblings, California condor 1111 became the second wild-fledged condor in Zion National Park. In January 2024, she was trapped and tested with other condors during routine trapping efforts. She had the highest lead value recorded in a live bird in the recovery program’s 28-year history, according to the conservation group. She was transferred to a wildlife rehabilitation center for treatment. After several months of intensive care, 1111 was released back into the wild last May, seemingly recovered.

Most deaths from lead poisoning are a result of starvation and dehydration. Since the first release in Arizona in 1996, 52 California condors in the Arizona-Utah population have died from lead poisoning.

“The California Condor is an indicator species,” Tim Hauck, the group’s California condor program director, said in the release. “We know that other scavengers are eating from the same carcasses as condors. In fact, it is not uncommon to see eagles feeding alongside condors. Since many of those species are not currently considered at risk of extinction, they are not as closely monitored as the condors. But they are being exposed to the same sources of lead and are likely experiencing some level of lead poisoning.”

A tough year for California condors

In 2023, the highly pathogenic avian influenza killed 21 condors in the Arizona-Utah population, and since then, eight more died from lead poisoning, with several others awaiting final necropsy results.

“We cannot predict or control disease outbreaks and natural disasters,” Hauck said. “We have to focus our efforts on the preventable causes of death to ensure inevitable, unforeseen causes won’t be the breaking point for the population and HPAI reminded us of that. The truth is lead poisoning is the No. 1 cause of death for condors and a preventable one at that.”

The California condor has had a difficult past year, Hauck said.

“1K’s death is a reminder that there is still work that needs to be done before we can take a step back and call this a conservation success story,” he said, adding the trajectory of the program continues to move upward thanks to the resiliency of the condor and the hard work of those in the recovery effort.

In 2022 and again in June, two California condors were shot to death with firearms southeast of Cedar City and north of Zion National Park, according to the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources. Last month, Wildlife Resources and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service sought the public’s help in an investigation into the illegal killings.