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Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Photo: Rare Condors Being Poisoned by Bullets in Their Food, Study Confirms


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One of the few remaining adult California condors is seen here. Wildlife experts are working to bring the species back from the brink of extinction by raising chicks in captivity and then releasing them into the wild. But many of the freed condors are suffering from extreme lead poisoning.

A new study confirms that bullets and other forms of ammunition left in hunted carcasses—a major source of food for the condors—are the culprits.

Photograph courtesy U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service