Sespe Condor Sanctuary

The convert|53000|acre|km2|sing=on Condor Sanctuary was created in 1947. On January 14, 1992, two captive bred California Condors and two Andean Condors were released into the Sespe Condor Sanctuary, overlooking the Sespe Creek, near Fillmore, California. This was done by Hopper Mountain National Wildlife Refuge. These captive bred condors thrived in the wild and have begun to reproduce freely. (Source: [http://www.fws.gov/hoppermountain/cacondor/ U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service] )

Prior to the Sanctuary, numerous condors were killed by power line collisions. In order to circumvent this mishap, the captive condors were treated with "mock power poles" through the power pole aversion program. These poles emitted mild shocks when landed upon. They quickly learned to avoid power poles, which has significantly reduced their mortality rate.

Future plans

Currently the California Condor Recovery Program is in effect in California, Arizona, and Baja only. However, each contains around 150 condors and at least 15 breeding pairs. [http://www.fws.gov/hoppermountain/cacondor/] California has four release sites, of which the Sespe Condor Sanctuary is one. With the advent of more natural condor births, more release sites are in the works.

External links

* [http://www.fws.gov/hoppermountain/visitor.html Hopper Mountain National Wildlife Refuge Complex]
* [http://www.fws.gov/hoppermountain/cacondor/milestone.html California Condor Milestones]
* [http://www.fws.gov/hoppermountain/cacondor/ Hopper Mountain National Wildlife information on California Condors]