Condor Missing Since Aug. 14 Feared Dead

A California condor missing since mid-August is presumed dead, federal wildlife officials said Thursday.

The adult male, which was released to the wilds of Los Padres National Forest in February as part of the California Condor Recovery Program, was last seen Aug. 14.

“We have to assume the bird has perished,” said Jane Hendron of the California Condor Recovery Program.

At the time of its disappearance, the bird was healthy and eating regularly, she said. It flew off with a second condor, which surprised biologists when it turned up three weeks later, well-fed and in good condition.

Wildlife officials said they were impressed at that condor’s ability to take care of itself for such a long period of time. Still, they believe it highly unlikely that its companion could be alive after seven weeks.

All the condors are equipped with radio transmitters, but biologists lost the signal from the missing condor soon after it vanished. One fear is that the bird may have been caught in the massive August wildfire in San Luis Obispo County. But unless the bird’s body turns up, there is no way of knowing what happened, she said.

Although the recovery program had a rocky start in the early 1990s, this is the first condor lost in nearly two years. There are still 16 birds living in the wild, and eight more are being prepared for release.