Article

by Hannah Moore

June 4, 2015—Synthetic drug shots and dead mice and rats are the daily treatment regimen for a lead-poisoned condor named Miracle.

Miracle got her name because in 2008, she became the first condor chick born in the Big Sur wild in more than a century. She is being treated by veterinarians at the Oakland Zoo and recovering from the health scare. She was brought to the Zoo from Pinnacles National Park last week after a routine blood test by condor rescuers showed high levels of lead in her, according to the San Jose Mercury News.

If her lead levels continue to drop, she should be back in the wild in one to two weeks, reported CBS Sacramento.

To lessen stress on Miracle as she recovers, she’s currently not viewable for visitors. But a webcam has been set up in her pen and the public can watch it here.

Miracle’s treatment is important to the effort toward keeping this endangered species away from extinction. As their territory has increased, more condors have been poisoned. They are also becoming more self-reliant for food, seeking out carcasses rather than taking lead-free carcasses provided by rescue workers.

In 2019 at the earliest, state law prohibiting lead ammo in hunting will kick in. Until then, lead poisoning will likely continue to be a problem.

Last year, the Oakland Zoo became the first Northern California zoo to treat poisoned condors. Miracle is the ninth condor brought to the Oakland Zoo since then and the first delivered there this year.

Before last year, however, Northern and Central California condors had to be taken to the Los Angeles Zoo. The long drive from Northern California took a toll on the sick condors and the Los Angeles facility became packed with condors.

About 232 condors now occupy the wild of California, Arizona and Utah. In 1987, federal biologists started to capture all wild condors and put them in zoos for breeding.