NPS Photo by Paul Johnson 2003 Joint effort with National Park Service and Ventana Wildlife Society construction of captive flight pen commences First release of two birds on December 20, 2003 A few birds are outfitted with GPS transceivers 2004 On August 15th, condor 199, originally released by Ventana Wildlife Society in Big Sur flies to Pinnacles and spent the next few days feeding alongside the Pinnacles' birds. 2006 Motion sensor cameras are setup at bait stations Walk-in freezer allows program to keep more donated dairy calves for baiting condors Remote video setup at bait station First time Pinnacles'-released condors make a flight over to the Big Sur Coast release site managed by Ventana Wildlife Society(VWS) 2007 Point Reyes donates exotic deer from eradication program to use as bait for the condors First non-lead shooting event held to educate public about the wildlife and human health issues with using lead ammunition Obtained a base increase in funding for the park to hire employees for the recovery program 2008 Wireless surveillance cameras setup at flight pen and bait station Condors from Pinnacles National Park fly in a very publicized visit to Mt. Hamilton, expanding their range even further North Non-Lead Outreach position gains funding at the park 2009 First Pinnacles'-released condor (313) successfully nests in the wild and fledged condor 514 2010 First documented condor nest within the Pinnacles National Park boundary since 1898 (Condors 318/317) VWS released condor 219 breeds with Pinnacles' released female 310 and successfully fledge their own young (574) from a wild nest Researchers identify and locate an additional source of lead in the environment caused by lead paint on an old firetower within park boundaries Pinnacles National Park feral pig eradication begins donating exotic pig carcasses shot with copper ammunition to the condors as bait 2011 In December remediation of the firetower's lead paint is completed The Condor Care Unit consisting of an on-site radiograph, holding and exam rooms is completed 2012 Re-construction of captive flight pen-scheduled completed in October 2013 Remote telemetry stations in use to assist in tracking condors to be completed by year end |
Last updated: February 28, 2015