The California condor saved from extinction thanks to the condors of the Peruvian Andes

The majestic American condor is no longer at risk of extinction thanks to what has been learned about another species of condor in Peru

He is about to end up run over, his mother saves him

Until a few years ago, the California condor Gymnogyps californianus, the largest bird of prey in North America, was declared at risk of extinction due to the exhausting hunting and the destruction of its habitat which have drastically reduced the populations of condors. The federal government in 1982 had only 23 copies worldwide. Today, however, its species can be considered miraculously saved thanks to a protection project and studies on the condors of the Andes in Peru.

In fact, since 1987 the majestic California Condor with a wingspan of 3 meters has been part of a recovery program, the California Condor Recovery Program of the US Fish and Wildlife Service, which in all these years has made reproduce the species in captivity to protect it from the danger that loomed over it and threatened its future existence.

Already after 10 years the results of the joint efforts of the recovery center and the other units participating in the project had paid off: the number of California condors had increased from 23 in 1982 to 410 in 1992. How was this possible? Thanks to the condors of the Peruvian Andes, his closest relatives which were first bred in captivity at the San Diego Zoo and then released into the wild along the coast of Illescas, north of Peru, and kept under observation by experts.

The Illescas peninsula, which since 25 December 2021 has officially become a protected nature reserve and is home to animals of all species, is in fact the place where the Andean crow lays its eggs, nesting on the ledges or in the rocky cavities of the Peruvian peaks. Here the scholars monitored the condors of the Andes from San Diego 24 hours a day for a whole month, noting how they were accepted by other similar ones, perfectly managing to adapt to the group and survive in nature.

The data gathered from the experience of the Andean condors was applied to the American species by the US Fish and Wildlife Service, reaching in 2008 the first amazing result: the number of free California condors in the American wilderness had exceeded the number of those raised in captivity.

The program is now in its final phase, but its researchers can confidently say that the California condor is now safe and the credit goes to its Peruvian cousin, the Andean condor.

Source: fws.gov

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