Rare Condor At Oakland Zoo Recovering From Lead Poisoning
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) - Veterinarians at the Oakland Zoo are treating a California condor named Miracle for lead poisoning she got scavenging on carcasses with hunters' lead shot.
The Oakland Tribune reports the condor is the first wild chick born in over a century in Big Sur as part of the California Condor Recovery program.
Zoo workers are giving Miracle shots of a synthetic drug that enables her to excrete the poison. They are also leaving her plenty of dead rats and mice to chow down in her pen.
Biologists say they found high levels of lead during a routine check last week.
Zoo staff expect the big raptor will return to the wild in a week or two if her lead levels continue to drop.
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