Condors Are Staying Out of Harm’s Way

The five remaining California condors in Los Padres National Forest near Fillmore are being more cooperative in staying away from populated areas after a series of accidental deaths by man-made hazards, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service said Tuesday.

Thanks in part to ongoing efforts by a nine-member crew to keep the birds from harm, the young vultures have avoided the power poles blamed for the deaths of two of the birds, keeping to more remote stretches of the 53,000-acre Sespe Condor Sanctuary, wildlife service biologist Jean Tinsman said.

“The birds have been good,” Tinsman said. “They have been staying out of trouble.”

Meanwhile, a Long Beach man was sentenced by a Los Angeles judge to two years probation and fined $1,500 for shooting at one of the condors in March.

U.S. District Judge Richard A. Gadbois, Jr. on Monday sentenced Cesario Quinteros Campos, 32, after prosecutors said Campos took several shots at one of the condors.

The bird, a 2-year-old named Xewe (Chumash for one who casts a shadow) escaped unharmed. Xewe was released into the wild as part of the 12-year, $15-million Condor Recovery Program based in Los Padres National Forest.

Campos was reported by a member of the condor program who spotted him picnicking with his family and later shooting at the bird near the Sespe Condor Sanctuary near Fillmore, officials said.

A warrant remains for the arrest of his brother-in-law, Ricardo Contreras Tirado, 23, who was accused of accompanying Campos and shooting at the condor.

Condors are protected under the Endangered Species Act, which prohibits the harassment, hunting or shooting of any endangered species.

“We’re very happy about it,” Tinsman said of the sentencing. “We’re hoping that now people will think twice before harming condors.”

In June, a year-old female condor died after flying into a power pole near California 126 east of Fillmore. In late May, another year-old female was electrocuted by a power line in the same area. A third condor died last October of kidney failure after venturing into a camping area near Pyramid Lake and swallowing antifreeze that had been dumped on the ground.

While working to avoid future mishaps, wildlife service officials said the deaths were not surprising because the condors were released while very young and had no adult bird supervision. Condors, which mature when 5 or 6 years old, can live to be 40, Tinsman said. Before reaching adulthood, the large, gawky birds go through a “curiosity phase,” flying up to 100 miles a day in search of adventure, Tinsman said.

“They are very immature juveniles,” Tinsman said. “Under normal conditions, they would not yet be without parental guidance.”

Jagged, triangular anti-perching devices recently installed on power poles near Fillmore where the condors were killed have helped keep the birds away, Tinsman said, adding that the birds’ curiosity may be waning.

“We saw one of them who managed to perch anyway, but she didn’t stay for long and she didn’t come back,” Tinsman said.

Nine field biologists and assistants have been working full time to monitor the birds and lure them deeper into the wild with large, condor-colored kites and a weekly diet of 40 pounds of decomposing calf carcasses.

“We’re planning to move the feeding sites deeper and deeper into the forest, and we’re hoping the birds will follow,” Tinsman said.

Although wildlife service officials have decided not to relocate the Sespe condors to Santa Barbara, the next group of condors, due for release in December, will be released in that more remote area of Los Padres National Forest.

“We’re not letting any more condors out in the Sespe Sanctuary,” Tinsman said. “We learned our lesson.”