California Condor #286 aka "Pinns"

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Hatchday: May 16th, 2002 Hatch location San Diego Wild Animal Park Sex: Male Current Status: Deceased due to Lead Poisoning. Offspring: none Current location: Big Sur, CA

Pinns and his cohort were released at Pinnacles National Monument - the first release at that site. But in their first spring, biologists noticed that several condors were perching on power poles. Power poles pose a huge safety risk for large birds. If a condor touches both metal posts at either end of the crosspiece simultaneously, then a huge amount of electricity would travel through them, electrocuting them instantly.

The condors at Pinnacles who were the "ringleaders" and perched frequently on crosspieces were permanently returned to captivity. Pinns was a follower - perching on crosspieces only after other condors were already there - so it was decided that he could have another chance in the wild. He was released the second time in Big Sur as we hoped that a new environment would encourage him to avoid his old dangerous patterns. We are happy to say that he has never been seen perched on a crosspiece since his Big Sur release. It is a bit sad that he is most remembered for his past mistakes, but we are happy to see him following a healthy path now.
Note: Pinns deceased in May 2009 due to lead poisoning.

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