Can lead kill condors?
Yes, condors are highly susceptible to lead toxicity. Even small bullet fragments or shotgun pellets can kill a condor after these are ingested, depending on how much time these fragments remain in the digestive system, how many back-to-back exposures occur, and other factors. Why are condors more vulnerable to lead poisoning than other vultures or raptors? Condors are generally long-lived with a slow reproductive rate. Condors, like any species with this reproductive strategy, cannot withstand persistent high mortality rates. For example, in the 1980’s, condors were thought to have only a 6-8 year lifespan due to excessive mortality, whereas normally they can live 50+ years. Condors don’t begin to breed until 6-8 years old, so given the shortened lifespan the species couldn’t reproduce in time before they were expected to die. Turkey Vultures, on the other hand, begin to breed much sooner and can have more than one chick per nesting attempt. It is not that Turkey Vultures and raptors
