Following the deaths of two endangered California Condors this year, a group is offering a $40,000 reward to help find the shooters.
The Center for Biological Diversity this week began distributing wanted posters offering the reward in hopes of finding those responsible for the shooting of the rare birds in the Central and Northern California.
“It’s important to take this campaign directly to these communities,” said Adam Keats, the center’s urban wildlands director. “In these hard economic times we believe that word of the $40,000 reward will travel fast and loosen lips, hopefully leading to a break in the case.”
One of the condors was poisoned by ingesting lead ammunition used by game hunters in the area of Pinnacles National Monument near Salinas, CA.
The California Condor is a stunning vulture that can live up to 50 years. With its 10 foot wing span, it is the largest North American land bird.
The full text of the center’s press release is available online.
San Francisco Chronicle: Search is on for California condor shooters
You can also download the wanted posters in English: http://tinyurl.com/condortip or in Spanish: http://tinyurl.com/condortip2.