Lead Poisoning Threatens Endangered Condors - New on AAAS

For three decades, the California condor has been inching away from the brink of extinction with the help of a lot of human intervention. An intensive wildlife management program, which includes captive breeding and medical monitoring of wild birds, costs an estimated $5 million per year. From a low of 22 birds in 1982 to today's population of around 400, California condors have made a modest recovery. But a recent study published in the Proceedings of the National Academies of Science shows chronic lead poisoning is a persistent problem, and the species will continue to require extensive support in order to survive in the wild if the problem is unmitigated.Read more at my latest AAAS Member Central blog post here.