I think it’s safe to say that the California Condor is a species that’s poorly adapted to life on this planet, and they probably would have gone extinct regardless of what humans did.  Especially when you read stuff like this:
At the time of human settlement of the Americas, the California Condor was widespread across North America. However, climate changes associated with the end of the last ice age and the extinction of the Pleistocene megafauna led to a subsequent reduction in range and population. Prehistorically, California Condors are known from Arizona,[28] Nevada,[29] New Mexico,[30][31] and Texas.[32]
In modern times, a wide variety of causes helped lead to the condor’s decline. The condor’s fickle mating habits and resulting low birth rate combined with a late age of sexual maturity make the bird vulnerable to loss of population.
Now they blame man, and Governor Schwarzenegger is faced with whether to agree to ban lead bullets in Condor habitat. Here’s where I start getting offensive: let them go extinct already! It’s pretty clear they were on their way toward that without any help from humans, and I don’t think we should go to extremes to prolong the inevitable. Yep, sometimes I believe species should just be allowed to go extinct. You can add Pandas to that list as well.
Definetly some animals are not resiliant to change at all. Meanwhile we do our damndest to wipe nasty insects off the face of the earth, and they come back in droves. Also you can go to the midwest and see a rookery of Sea Gulls sitting in the McDonald’s parking lot.
My only difference of opionion is we should allow captive populations to survive in zoos for the sake of scientific record.
It is kinda sad. I personally think we need to redouble our captive breeding efforts to restore a full, healthy population to the western states… After all, California Condors taste fantastic… Kinda like Spotted Owls, only a bit more gamy.
Mmmm…. spotted owl
Oh, noooooooes! Not pandas!
If adaptation is not possible the species, no matter what it is will cease to exist in this dynamic world because it is always changing and demanding adaptation for survival.
“In modern times, a wide variety of causes helped lead to the condor’s decline. The condor’s fuckle mating habits and resulting low birth rate combined with a late age of sexual maturity make the bird vulnerable to loss of population.”
I’m sure they meant to say “fickle” but fuckle gets the point across too, and reinforces that we’re talking about mating here.
crap that’s “fickle”
Maybe we could genetically modify a meaner, smarter, LARGER condor, one that is suited to picking through modern refuse.