This article is published through the Utah News Collaborative, a partnership of news organizations in Utah that aim to inform readers across the state.
Condor 1K is described by those who worked with him as curious and goofy, delighting visitors to Zion National Park, as well as staff and volunteers. So, when he died a reportedly preventable death earlier this year, it dealt a heavy blow to those who cared for him.
California condors have been in recovery for decades, with just 22 condors remaining in the wild in the 1980s. Currently, there are over 560 birds across the range, with 80 flying free in the Utah-Arizona flock. Still, there have been setbacks. The species’ leading cause of death is lead poisoning, caused by an accumulation of lead in the birds’ systems after ingesting lead bullet fragments in the remains or gut piles of hunted animals.
This is what happened to Zion National Park’s “symbol of hope,” Condor 1K, St. George News reported.
Janice Stroud-Settles, a wildlife program manager at Zion, said the loss was particularly for the team as she and others remember when 1K’s parents built their nest near Angels Landing.
“This was all the way back in 2019,” she said. “We knew we had a nest. We’ve never had a successfully-fledged chick from Zion at that point in time. So, we were all holding our breath, like, ‘Is this actually going to be it, finally? Will Utah finally get their chick?’”
Read more at stgeorgeutah.com.
