$30,000 reward for capture of condor killer Several conservation groups announced that a reward fund totaling over $30,000 has been established for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons who shot and killed condor AC-8 which was found shot on February 13, 2003 on a large ranch in Kern County. Condor AC-8 was one of only about 80 endangered California condors remaining in the wild. She was born in the wild and in 1986 became one of the last wild condors to be captured for a captive breeding program intended to rescue the giant birds from extinction. After hatching twelve eggs in captivity, Condor AC-8 was released in April 2000, the first of the original wild birds to be let free. Peter Galvin, a Director for the Center for Biological Diversity, stated, “We are hopeful that the establishment of this reward fund will help investigators solve this heinous crime.” After receiving pledges from numerous conservation groups and a $25,000 pledge from Wendy P. McCaw Foundation of Santa Barbara, the reward fund currently stands at $31,500. The California condor is listed as an endangered species and is protected by both federal and state law. Killing a condor carries a maximum penalty of one year imprisonment and a fine of $100,000. The law enforcement division of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is investigating the recent killing, and the agency pledged an unspecified reward for information. The conservationists’ reward fund will be paid out in its entirety through the end of 2004 to anyone whose information leads to a conviction. Condors breed slowly. Because they scavenge carrion, they have succumbed to lead poisoning from bullets in carcasses they were eating. Anyone with information regarding the shooting should call the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at (916) 414-6664 or the Department of Fish and Game’s CalTIP Program at 1-888-dfg-caltip. Groups Participating in the reward fund include the Wendy P. McCaw Foundation, Center for Biological Diversity, Friends of the Animals, Environmental Defense Center—Kern Chapter, Audubon Society, Ventana Wilderness Alliance, Ventana Chapter of the Sierra Club, and Helping Our Peninsula’s Environment. [ top of page ]

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