California condor chick hatched in Zion has died, scientists say

A California condor chick hatched this year in Zion National Park gave hope for the continued recovery of the endangered species, one of the world’s largest birds.

It was the first observable wild condor born in Utah in a century. But scientists keeping watch on the bird from a distance believe it has died.

The park’s nearly 6-month-old chick seemed healthy as it approached fledgling stage, when condors are full grown and first take flight. But researchers from both Zion and the Peregrine Fund stopped spotting it in November.

“It was making trips out to the opening of the cave daily,” said Chris Parish, the fund’s condor-program director. “For it to quit that abruptly and not be seen four visits in a row, it was obvious it was gone.”

The cause of death is not confirmed, as Zion spokeswoman Alyssa Baltrus said researchers have not been able to collect the young condor’s body.

“The nest cavity is in a location that is in our vast wilderness and difficult to reach,” Baltrus said in an email this week. “We decided it was not worth the risk on human life to attempt it.”

It is also possible the bird fell to its death while trying to fly, Baltrus said, “in which case the body may have been dragged off by another animal.”

Parish pointed to the possibility of lead poisoning, which causes about 50 percent of diagnosed condor deaths. Human-related causes like trash and chemical ingestion kill condors too, but the chick’s case is still under speculation.

Researchers are observing its parents in the meantime — two of about a dozen relocated condors that frequent the park.

Including the handful of Zion’s condors, Parish said, about 73 condors are living in the wilderness on the Colorado Plateau — much of Northern Arizona and Southern Utah, bordering Nevada. The birds grow to be about 4 feet tall and can stretch their wings to a span of nearly 10 feet in flight.

Parish said the loss was disappointing but not devastating, as deaths are expected in any species despite conservation efforts. He said his team will collect and apply information from the death as they approach condor breeding season next December.

The California condor’s numbers dwindled in the 20th century, hitting an all-time low in the 1980s, when only 22 wild birds remained. Scientists blame poaching, habitat loss and lead poisoning, which the birds can contract from lead bullet fragments in the guts of wild game that have been shot by hunters. Condors are scavengers.

Hunters in the condor’s environment are advised to use copper bullets to prevent the problem.

Two other condor chicks were born this year in Arizona and appear to be thriving. Adult birds are released in Arizona, which once was a crucial habitat for them. Scientists believe the parents of the chick that died migrated to Zion.

“It doesn’t make you happy, of course, but I think we’ve been at this long enough (that) we know to expect this,” Parish said.

“It’s just part of the process.”