Two Endangered California Condors Shot in Utah

Two endangered California condors were recently shot and killed in southern Utah, with one incident in 2022 and another last month, impacting the critically endangered species that has only 85 remaining in the wild in northern Arizona and southern Utah as of June 2024. Investigations by Utah Division of Wildlife Resources and U.S. Wildlife Services are ongoing, appealing to the public for information to identify the perpetrators. The killings have set back over a decade of conservation efforts, with potential felony charges including fines up to $5,000, $1,500 in restitution, and a five-year prison sentence for those responsible. Conservationists emphasize the significance of these losses, representing about 2% of the regional condor population, stressing the severity of these wildlife crimes and the need for public assistance in solving them.