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Two elks were killed by poachers using lead ammo in an area frequented by the  California condors now flying free in the region, putting the endangered birds’ lives in danger.

According to a release from the Northern California Condor Restoration Program — a partnership between the Yurok Tribe and Redwood National and State Parks — one of the carcasses discovered Nov. 12 “contained enough lead to kill several condors.”

“This is about as close as you can get to a worst-case scenario. If the carcasses weren’t quickly reported, and our free-flying condors accessed them, it is very likely that one or more of the condors would have consumed a life-threatening quantity of lead,” said NCCRP Manager and Yurok Wildlife Department Manager Chris West, who has more than two decades of condor management experience. “The risk this incident presented to the condors cannot be understated, since at least four of our recently released condors were less than a 10-minute flight from the poaching event at the time that it occurred.”

The release states the poaching case is being investigated by officers with Redwood National and State Parks and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. Anyone with information is urged to come forward by calling NPS Ranger Attendorn at (707) 465-7789 or Game Warden Castillo at (707) 673-3678. Anonymous reports can also be made to the CDFW CalTip at (888) 334-CalTIP (888 334-2258) or by calling the park’s crime tip line at (707) 765-7353.

“Based on the circumstances, we’re lucky we didn’t have to transport condors for treatment or lose a bird to lead poisoning,” said Yurok Wildlife Department Director Tiana Williams-Claussen, who spent most of her adult life working to fulfill a council of Yurok elders’ wish to bring back the bird they hold sacred and know as prey-go-neesh to its historic territory. “Lead is by far the single biggest threat to condors in the wild.”

Known as nature’s clean-up crew, condors play an important role in the ecosystem as apex scavengers that use their powerful beaks to pierce the tough skins of dead animals ranging from elk to sea lions and even the occasional whale, clearing the large carcasses from the landscape and helping to prevent the spread of disease.

This makes the massive birds with a nearly 9-foot wingspan highly susceptible to lead poisoning from ammunition. In this case, the NCCRP states “several lead fragments, including the bulk of the lead ammunition round, were found in the neck of one of the cow elk and within a fist-sized chunk of meat presumably dropped by the poachers at the site.”

Since being reintroduced into the wild, about half of the condor deaths have been attributed to the birds eating lead fragments in animal carcasses.

“In general, when a condor consumes lead fragments, the bird will experience a series of worsening symptoms that often unfold over the course of days and weeks and lead to an excruciating death,” the release states.