Back in 1982, there were only 23 Condor left and they were on the brink of extinction. The California Condor or Gymnogyps californianus now has a population of 537. Of these 537 birds, 334 are free-flying, and 203 are in captivity.
The Condor can live up to 60 years and is the largest bird in North America. The bird stands 3 to 3.5 feet tall
with a wingspan of 9.5 feet and weighing 17 to 25 pounds.
In the Pleistocene Era, the California Condor ranged all over North America. As the years passed the bird’s range became smaller. by the time European settlers came, the birds were only in the western part of the continent. In the 1940s they could only be found in Sothern California. Today because of the Recovery Program the Condors were reintroduced to the mountains of southern California, in the Big Sur area of central California, in the Grand Canyon area in Arizona, and Baja California mountains.
A few years back I was backpacking in Grand Canyon and was fortunate to see one of these magnificent birds.
