It’s a risk to all birds, but an outbreak of avian flu in California Condors killed 21 birds last year.
"There has been enormous efforts to bring the condor back from the brink of extinction over the last 30 years, and a lot of condors were wiped out in a very short space of time because of this virus," explained Julie Barnes, Vice President of Animal Care and Health at the Santa Barbara Zoo. She’s been involved in administering the new vaccine to wild Condors.
"The vaccine is not being used in any of the birds in the US at this stage. But there was authorization for emergency use in condors to try and protect the population. And we have actually started vaccinating wild condors for protecting them against the virus," said Barnes.
