In Boise, Idaho, a captive breeding program for California condors reached a new milestone Monday toward helping the birds return to the wild in plentiful numbers, according to Times Argus. For the first time in more than 10 years, there were more condor chicks born than condor deaths.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service confirmed that there were about 14 new birds brought in to the world last year, compared to the 12 that died.
In 1987, the California condor became extinct in the wild, urging animal conservationists to take action, according to the Spread It. In 2011 the captive Condor project was able to boast that there were more condors in the wild than in captivity, and in 2012 the number of condors in the wild reached 226.
"That's an indication that the program is succeeding," said Eric Davis, coordinator of the Fish and Wildlife's preservation program.
The condors are typically released from captivity into the wild when they are a bit younger than two years old, in batches of about 20 to 40, according to WSBTV.
One of the things contributing to the condors' death rate is hunters who leave bullet-ridden carcasses for the birds to eat. Those bullet fragments, often containing lead, are poisonous to the birds.
