29-07-2025
- Health
- San Francisco Chronicle
Oakland Zoo tries to save California condor that got poisoned in the wild
A wild California condor died from lead poisoning — the biggest threat to the critically endangered species — despite efforts from Oakland Zoo veterinary staff to save her on Saturday, officials said.
The bird, named Jane, but also known as condor 1019, came to the zoo from Ventana Wildlife Society in Monterey and was so sick she was stumbling, then unable to stand, zoo officials said in a social media post, adding that her digestive system was unable to absorb any food.
The zoo's veterinary team 'did everything they could,' including surgery on Saturday to remove lead fragments from her stomach, 'but sadly the lead poisoning was too advanced,' officials said.
'This tragic case is yet another example of how dangerous lead ammunition is to condors, who ingest it unknowingly when they eat (decaying flesh of dead animals) that contains fragments from lead bullets.'
The Oakland Zoo is part of the California Condor Recovery Program that aims to rehabilitate sick and injured condors, a species that's classified as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
Jane, named after the renowned conservationist Jane Goodall, was born at the World Center for Birds of Prey in Idaho in 2020. The 5-year-old dominant condor was friendly with less brave birds, according to Ventana Wildlife Society's website. On multiple occasions Jane was spotted standing over another condor in a pen as if to make sure the other bird got her share of food. In the wild, she stuck close to other female condors.
