We spent a good deal of time not only looking down while in the Big Sur region but also up to the sky. We were hoping to catch a glimpse of a Condor. Within Andrew Molera State Park is The Ventana Wildlife Society Research and Education Center, established in January 1992. We stopped in to learn a little about these creatures and learned they weren’t what we expected. Both my boyfriend and I were expecting something along the lines of a regal Eagle or large hawk. Instead, we discovered Condors more closely resemble a very large turkey vulture.
The wildlife society is currently working to restore the population of the California condor which is currently dismal. I believe there are only about 300 living condors. The number one threat comes from the lead in bullets used for hunting. Since these large birds prefer to scavenge, they are subject to ingesting the bullets or at least fragments of. Because their digestive systems are so efficient, they can break down the bullets and absorb the lead in to their blood stream leading to certain death.
Learn more about these birds, their fate, and other endangered wildlife at their website: http://www.ventanaws.org/species/