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Article: Condors Face New Dangers: Biologists scramble to monitor birds that ate poisoned rodents.
- Article from:
- The Monterey County Herald (Monterey, CA)
- Article date:
- June 20, 2006
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2006 Monterey County Herald. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: Kevin Howe
Jun. 20--Modern life holds unexpected hazards for the Pleistocene-age California condors that live at Pinnacles National Monument.
Toxic ground squirrels, for one.
Wildlife biologists are trying to trap 11 of the 13 condors that call the Pinnacles home after discovering that they have been feeding on the carcasses of ground squirrels and other field rodents shot or poisoned on nearby ranch land.
If the birds eat lead bullets, they get lead poisoning, said Eric Brunnemann, superintendent of the Pinnacles, and the rodent poisons in the carcasses can harm birds and other scavengers as well.
"We know what lead ...