LOS ANGELES — For the first time in nearly 50 years, California condors have been spotted at Sequoia National Park, wildlife officials announced.
The majestic scavengers, the largest land bird in North America, with a 9.5-foot wingspan, once inhabited areas stretching from California to Florida and Western Canada to Northern Mexico. They were listed as endangered in 1967 by the federal government, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
At least six condors were spotted in the park in late May, including two near Moro Rock, a popular hiking destination. Four others were seen in the Giant Forest, the National Park Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said in a joint news release.
Condors historically occupied the Sierra Nevada mountains and were known to nest in the cavities of giant sequoia trees. But by 1982, the flock’s population had dropped dramatically — largely because of lead poisoning — leaving fewer than 25 surviving condors, officials said.
The handful of remaining birds were placed in a captive breeding program at the Los Angeles Zoo and San Diego Wild Animal Park to prevent them from going extinct, wildlife officials said.
Condors were released back into the wild in 1992 in the mountains of the Los Padres National Forest in Southern California. This flock grew to 100 through the continued release of captive-bred birds and wild reproduction, along with the support of private and public agencies and organizations, local communities and landowners, biologists said.
Since being released nearly 30 years ago, California condors have been seen flying near Sequoia in the last seven to eight years, but May was the first time they actually landed in the park, according to Tyler Coleman, a wildlife biologist with Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks.
“It took decades for the population to recover to the point where they were being seen in locations far beyond their release site,” Coleman said. “This is evidence of continued recovery of the species. … It is an important milestone.”
