California Thunderbird
14 x 11
acrylic
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Condor (Gymnogyps californianus) Critically endangered

A member of the vulture family.  They are social and spend time together.  It weighs 18-23 pounds and has a wingspan of 9 1/2 feet.  The condor once flew along from British Columbia to the Northern Baja Pacific coast.  There were only 25 birds left when the San Diego Zoo, and others, began a captive breeding program in the 1980s. In 1992 the successfully raised birds were released only to be killed or died from ingesting lead shells from game left behind by hunters.  October 14, 2007, Gov. Schwarzenegger signed legislation, AB 821, to not allow lead bullets in the area where the condors live and feed.  Hunting is still allowed but different shells must be used.  The bird is a scavenger feeding on dead carcasses making it vulnerable to the lead used to shoot the animal.