2010 Annual Report - Ventana Wildlife Society

DDT (contained in marine mammalcarcasses). Our California Condorrecovery program employs a team ofdedicated biologists and volunteers totrack the flock and provide testing andcare when needed. In some cases,prompt treatment for lead poisoninghas saved the lives of condors.Our California Condor recovery programis not limited to monitoring. VentanaWildlife Society biologists are researchingeggshell thickness and the effects of thetoxic compound DDE. Condors along thecentral coast have become increasinglyproficient at locating sea lion carcasses,which contain high levels of DDE. Currentlevels of eggshell thinning prevent somecondors from producing young in the wildwithout intervention from our monitoringteam; such a problem poses a threat tothe flock becoming truly self-sustaining.We are currently studying the associationof condor eggshell thinning trends andmarine contaminants. We recentlysubmitted a summary of research resultsto a scientific journal, and we anticipatethis manuscript contributing greatly to theconservation of the California Condor. C e n t r a l C a l i f o r n i aC o n d o r P o p u l a t i o n For detailed condor population information, please visit www.ventanaws.org.7