SW CA Condor Update - 2015-11 (November)

Condor Enthusiasts -
Here you may download the updated condor chart and tables (11 18 2015)

in addition to this:

VERMILION CLIFFS RELEASE PEN:
Condors 535, 613, 691, 741, 743, 752, 761, 763

DEATHS:

1 new death to report: Condor 122 died on 10/8/2015; cause of death is shooting (not yet official) and is under investigation. The following are updates to deaths previously reported.

• 537: 5-year-old female;died on 2/2014. Cause of death unknown
• 234: 14-year-old male;died on 5/22/2014 in O'Neil Gulch, UT; Cause of death was lead poisoning
• 299: 10-year-old male;died on 12/30/2013 in Zion NP; Cause of death unknown
  

BREEDING STATUS UPDATE:

• Condor 316 is tending to her chick near the Tower of R, Grand Canyon National Park. The father,122, died in October. Chick has been observed at the nest entrance and is looking about ready to fledge any day.
• Condors 187 and 280 continue to attend their chick on the Battleship formation, Grand Canyon National Park. We are still waiting for the chick to fledge.
• Condor 123 and 297 nicely tricked biologist in believing they were attending a chick earlier this year in Grand Canyon National Park. However we believe now that what we saw was a turkey vulture chick in which Condor 297 showed great interest. Both 297 and 123 spent the majority of their summer in Utah, thus confirming they were not nesting.
• Condors 337 and 409 are likely nesting in Zion National Park based on GPS transmitter data. Nest has not been confirmed yet due to private land issues.
  

Current AZ/UT population number: 73

Janice Stroud-Settles, Wildlife Biologist
Division of Science and Resource Management
Grand Canyon National Park