California condor dies after losing leg, mate and chick: ‘He was a true fighter’
Six California condors from the Central California flock have died so far in 2023, according to the Ventana Wildlife Society, stewards of the California Condor Recovery Program.
The deaths of the critically endangered giant birds, which have wingspans nearing 10 feet, mean that the flock’s population now totals 94.
Six chicks have not yet fledged. Four of those chicks are in the Big Sur region and two are at Pinnacles National Park.
The Central California flock will surge to 104 bids when 10 juvenile condors — fully grown but with black heads instead of the red-orange coloring sported by adults — are scheduled to be released from the mountains above San Simeon this fall.
California condor dies after losing leg, mate
One of the condors that died this year was 11-year-old Junipero (No. 663).
Junipero, who was found dead in June, was “one of the great ones,” Ventana Wildlife Society lead biologist Joe Burnett said.
“Everyone followed his incredible story,” said Burnett, calling Junipero “a really great bird.”
“Junipero lost his leg and survived nearly two years with one leg,” Burnett explained in a “Condor Chat” Zoom update. “It’s just awesome to watch a bird hang on so long.”
How did he lose his left leg? Biologists aren’t sure, but Junipero was observed on camera struggling with his leg when, suddenly, it just fell off.
Shortly after that, his mate died. The pair also lost their chick.
“He had a big personality; he did a lot through his life,” VWS staffer Darren Gross explained in the June Condor Chat. “He’s a special bird we will remember fondly.”
The necropsy on Junipero is pending, so the specific cause of death has not yet been revealed.
The other five condors that have expired in 2023 include Wassak (No. 968), Poseidon (No. 697) lead poisoning) and No. 700, who all died from lead poisoning.
No. 1082 perished in a landslide and Big Gulp (No. 711) died from trauma.
Staff at Pinnacles National Park do not name birds; they use only numbers. Big Sur and San Simeon-released condors receive names.
Who was Junipero?
Junipero was a wild-raised condor who was hatched on March 30, 2012. He is the offspring of Shadow (No. 209) and Tiny (No. 236).
He took his first flight in the shadow of Junipero Serra Peak, the tallest mountain in the Big Sur coast range. This inspired his nickname Junipero.
Because Junipero had not been handled before he fledged, he was not fitted with a radio transmitter or with an identification tag.
He eluded the VWS crew’s attempt to capture him for more than a year.
Biologists didn’t know his gender until he was trapped at Pinnacles in the summer of 2013. Then a blood draw determined he was male.
Junipero paired with No. 438 from Pinnacles in 2021. They were raising a chick together in a Big Sur redwood tree when No. 438 died unexpectedly.
For a time, Junipero cared for the pre-fledged chick on his own, but he couldn’t keep that parenting duties up and the chick was declared dead in 2022.
“He was elusive, particularly after his injury,” Burnett said of Junipero, noting that the bird was seen at “odd times of the day taking advantage of not having other condors around.”
Junipero was “the only condor to survive in the wild after losing a leg for a significant amount of time,” Burnett explained in an email. “He was a true fighter with a strong will to survive.”
For more information on condors, visit ventanaws.org.
