The California condor is the one of the largest flying birds in the world. When it soars, the wings spread more than nine feet from tip to tip. Condors may weigh more than 20 pounds. The male Andean condor of South America is even larger than our California condor. Both are endangered species. They feed only on carrion (dead animals that they find). Condors only lay one egg every other nesting year, and it takes more than a year from the time the egg is laid until the young bird has learned to live on its own. Most causes of death in the past two centuries have been from human activities. It has been illegal for anyone to kill a California Condor for more than 100 years, but illegal killing is not the only problem they face. A major problem has been contamination from lead fragments in carcasses, poison bait, and environmental pollutants. In the 1970’s, biologists found that only a few dozen condors remained in the wild. In 1980, a major conservation project was started to try to keep the birds from becoming extinct. Eggs were collected and hatched at the Los Angeles Zoo and San Diego Wild Animal Park, and a few birds were taken to zoos for captive breeding. But this help came too late to stop the decline in the wild bird population, so in the id 1980’s all of the remaining condors in the wild were captured and taken to zoos. Since that time, nearly 200 condors have been released back into the wild, but the species is still critically endangered. See how you can help at http://www.peregrinefund.org/projects/california-condor