Global News - October 2007
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California's fires threaten rare birds
Tue 30 October 2007 14:15 UK — North America,Birds
Officials in the US are concerned that the recent wildfires in California could have severely damaged the habitat of several species of rare birds and animals.
The US Fish and Wildlife Service said that the wildfires - which started on October 21st - have damaged vast swathes of the Hopper Mountain and San Diego National Wildlife Refuges.
In particular, fires have razed around 70 per cent of the vegetation in Hopper Mountain's refuge. The area is home to several rare condors.
"It became clear that the area burned included the condor nest sites," explained Marc Weitzel, project leader at the Hopper Mountain refuge complex.
Radio transmission signals suggest that two of the three rare condor chicks that the refuge was monitoring survived the fires. Until officials can return to the area, it is not possible to ascertain the fate of the third bird.
In 1987, just 22 California condors survived in the world. Breeding and conservation programmes meant that their numbers increased to 273 by 2005. However, they are still listed as critically endangered and only around 100 survive in the wild.
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