Condor Watch Talk

Lead exposure and food prosessing in other scavengers

  • Aegypius by Aegypius

    Hey,

    I saw a yesterdays (for you it's still todays) press release about a fresh publication that's maybe interesting for you.

    Press release:
    http://www.izw-berlin.de/pr/white-tailed-eagles-avoid-large-bullet-fragments-during-consumption-of-carcasses-von-kadavern-kopie.html

    Publication:
    Nadjafzadeh M, Hofer H, Krone O (2015): Lead exposure and food processing in white-tailed eagles and other scavengers: an experimental approach to simulate lead uptake at shot mammalian carcasses. EUR J WILDL RES; DOI 10.1007/s10344-015-0953-1

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  • wreness by wreness moderator

    Wow, what an incredible photo. Very interesting! I wonder if that applies everywhere and if anyone's ever noticed? Thank for posting that 😃

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  • GizmoMischief by GizmoMischief

    Hi, not sure this is the right place to post this but... was wondering what the average age is of condors who succumb to lead poisoning. Seems most of the ones whose bios I've read don't get much past 8 or 9 years. I get "heartsore" every time I read of another one who died due to lead poisoning. Isn't there enough data already for there to be a national ban on lead shot??

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  • myraf by myraf scientist

    Hi, thanks for your question! In terms of an 'average' age, we are currently working on understanding the factors that make a condor more likely to be lead poisoned but the long story short is that once a condor reaches age 2 (give or take), they have a similar probability of being lead poisoned as a condor of age 8. But we do think that condors who have been poisoned on multiple occasions are more likely to die from a subsequent exposure. Unfortunately, with lead ammunition still being used in CA and elsewhere in the United States, every time a condor (or other scavenging species such as golden eagle, coyote, etc.) feeds on a carcass it is sort of like a game of Russian Roulette. - will the animal ingest a lead fragment and will that ingestion kill them? In terms of your other questions, yes, I think there is a vast amount of scientific data illustrating that we should not use lead-based ammunition (see fhttp://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/1306945/) - unfortunately this has become a highly polarized issue and the science doesn't always drive the policy.

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  • wreness by wreness moderator in response to GizmoMischief's comment.

    Hi Gizmo! I posted an answer to you but either Zoo ate it or I didn't actually hit "submit" like I thought I did ( take a guess which 😛)

    Don't know if you saw these articles and posts here on the boards but a lot of good info is in them.

    This is a fantastic article about the lead ammo issue, “Condors or lead ammunition? We can't have both”. by Dawn Starin

    Here's a bit on our boards about a petition to [move the lead ban date up to 2017]
    (http://talk.condorwatch.org/#/boards/BCW0000004/discussions/DCW000042t)

    ...and a wonderful blog article about lead ammo, by our own (above) Condor Watch scientist myraf, the lead expert toxicologist/microbiologist/all around overly busy person out in California

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  • GizmoMischief by GizmoMischief

    Thanks guys, when I get a minute (maybe tomorrow - hah!!) I'll have a read of all those publications. I've been doing wildlife rehab and release for the last 6 years on multiple species - mammals, birds, reptiles of ALL sorts - and I get so steamed when the risks and causes of death are obvious and those in power STILL pontificate about doing the right thing. Will definitely sign the petition and spread it around as much as I can.

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  • wreness by wreness moderator in response to GizmoMischief's comment.

    The petition has come and gone - the deadline was March 25, 2015. This was asking that the bill to ban the use of lead ammunition be moved up to 2017 instead of 2019. From the other post: On April 9, 2015, the California Fish and Game Commission unanimously voted in favor of implementing a statewide ban on lead ammunition use by 2019 despite our efforts to seek an expedited phase-in. (In other words, they will not move the ban date up - it will still only go into effect in 2019)

    The ever-gracious condor people at the Ventana Wildlife Organization said: The outcome is a positive step in saving wildlife and endangered species. To learn more, listen to Ventana Wildlife Society’s executive director, Kelly Sorenson being interviewed on SeaChange.org on the subject. Thank you all for your support!"

    The Ventana Wildlife Society (this is the area we see in our photos with the cage and also a beautiful pond and branches that will have a shied in the corner) is an amazing place filled with dedicated people. Please take a look at their website and see what they do! There is also a Live Cam where you can watch the condors when they are fed. You'll recognize them by their tags from our photos here.

    Since I don't have to be careful about being politically correct in my speech here like those involved in the "business end" let me say - I'm with you - I have no understanding as to how a critically endangered species is still being subjected to the main thing that is killing them off. If human-laid traps were killing pandas, they'd be removed in a week; they have patrols to prevent poachers from killing animals for their ivory; they stop multi-million dollar construction projects because they find a species of snail that is plentiful elsewhere, just not on that particular patch of land. Think of any endangered species and all that is done to protect it. Condors are critically endangered, mostly due to one human ingredient that can be changed and which will still take time to correct itself even when implemented. The question is, will the condors survive for another 4 years like this? If they don't, it won't be for lack of all the incredible people out there trying to help them survive. It will be some people's politics and special interest group's game playing that kill them.

    Don't know if you read this: NRA Admits Ignorance of Basic Facts About Lead Ammo's Lethal Toll on Endangered Condors

    Also see California Condor Government Org on Facebook - lots of good anti-lead ammo information and tons of photos of condors and the work being done.

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  • GizmoMischief by GizmoMischief

    Thanks for all those links - read them all. I'm even more peeved now that govt and the NRA want to delay this! It's really a no-brainer - not just for the condors but for every other species that's unlucky enough to get in a hunters' way. What I still can't figure out is - well, actually I can't figure out where the "sport" is in hunting but that's a whole other argument; I can't figure out why hunters are so "married" to lead bullets.

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