Extinct Animal : California Condor

This, the largest of the condors, has never been bred in captivity, and currently, no California condors are known to exist in the wild. Probably never numerous, this condor originally depended upon the carcasses of large mammals for food. With the expansion of settlement in the mid-1800s, this changed to domestic livestock and a reduced food supply.

Eventually, food shortage, the poisoning of carcasses in predator control and a naturally low reproductive rate all took their toll. Feeding programs have provided carcasses, and road kills serve as a supplementary food supply, but at the risk of threatening the bird’s independence.