Efforts to restore the California condor to the wild

Abstract

By the early 1980s new studies using radio telemetry and moult patterns to identify individuals indicated that only 21 California condors (Gymnogyps californianus) existed, with five pairs sporadically breeding. With continuous and poorly understood mortality, the decision was made to capture the remaining animals and in 1987 all 27 birds were placed in the protective custody of the San Diego and Los Angeles zoos, at which time the species was considered Extinct in the Wild....