Search is on for California condor shooters WILDLIFE

The recent shootings of two endangered California condors have prompted a statewide manhunt for the shotgun-wielding poachers.

The radio-collared vultures were shot somewhere between Big Sur and the Pinnacles National Monument, where they are known to forage, said Adam Keats, director of the urban wildlands program for the San Francisco office of the Center for Biological Diversity.

The condors were found this spring, alive but wounded. One of them, which was among the first of the birds to be released in the region as part of a restoration program, later died of unrelated lead poisoning.

"People are outraged," Keats said. "The condor is the symbol of the ancient history of California, and millions of dollars and countless hours of work have been spent since the 1980s trying to bring this species back into existence."

To waste all that effort "by taking a shot at them is reprehensible," Keats said.

The Center for Biological Diversity began distributing posters Thursday, offering a $40,000 reward for tips that lead to the shooters. It is believed to be the largest reward ever offered in the shooting of an endangered animal.

With a wingspan of 10 feet, the California condor is the largest North American land bird. The majestic black vulture is one of the world's longest-living birds, with a lifespan of up to 50 years.

Once widespread across North America, the condor has declined precipitously since the 19th century. Only 22 were left in the wild in 1987, prompting conservationists to capture the remaining birds and start a breeding program at the San Diego Wild Animal Park and the Los Angeles Zoo.

Some of the birds were reintroduced into the wild starting in 1991. There are now 337 condors, 183 of them in the wild in the Grand Canyon, Zion National Park, the coastal mountains of California and Baja California, Keats said.

The birds that were shot were among only 92 in Northern and Central California. A male dubbed No. 286 was found March 4. The 7-year-old condor, nicknamed "Pinns," was among the first six birds released at the Pinnacles National Monument.

It had lead poisoning and was brought to the Los Angeles Zoo, where it died May 11.

The other wounded condor, a juvenile female called No. 375, was found in early April. It, too, was suffering from lead poisoning and had been wounded by a shotgun blast.

The juvenile recovered and was released May 1.

Investigators don't know where the birds were attacked.

"They had been known to hang out together, which raises the possibility that they could have been shot at the same time," said Bruce Robertson a private investigator hired by the Center for Biological Diversity.

Wildlife biologists believe the birds were poisoned by eating lead ammunition. Even though the older bird did not die of the gunshot, Keats said, simply shooting at a condor is a serious crime.

It's a federal offense to shoot an endangered species. The violation carries a maximum penalty of a year in prison and a $100,000 fine.

"There is no hunt open for a bird that looks like a condor," Keats said. "This was not someone who was hunting. This was somebody who was committing a crime. Like every criminal, they need to be taken off the streets and punished."

Anyone with tips regarding the shootings is asked to call a condor hot line at (800) 840-1272 or e-mail condortip@gmail.com.