They're Back! Endangered Fish Spawns in Grand Canyon

By Becky Oskin, Senior Writer | June 18, 2014 06:44pm ET

After returning to the lower Colorado River in 2012 after a 22-year absence, the endangered razorback sucker fish is now spawning in Grand Canyon National Park, scientists announced today (June 18).

An adult razorback sucker fish.

Credit: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Biologists discovered larval razorback suckers in April and May at nine spots along the iconic Colorado River, which is home to several critically endangered fish species found nowhere else in the world.

"Razorback suckers continue to surprise us in Grand Canyon [National Park]— first with the discovery of adults after 20 years of absence, and now with spawning within the park," Brian Healy, fisheries program manager for the national park, said in a statement. "We're all hoping to see evidence that these larval fish survive to adulthood in the coming years."

Continued

Third wild-hatched California condor chick confirmed in Arizona-Utah in 2012

77 condors now roaming Arizona and Utah

August 2012. A Peregrine Fund biologist has provided visual confirmation that a wild-hatched California condor chick is present in a nest cave deep in Grand Canyon National Park. That brings to three the number of wild condor chicks produced by the Arizona-Utah flock this season.

"Based on our crew's observations, we suspected a chick had hatched sometime in early May," said Chris Parish, head of condor field operations for The Peregrine Fund. "We didn't want to make it official, however, until we had visual confirmation of the chick with our own eyes."

After several attempts, veteran field crew member Shaun Putz saw the young bird in Tapeats Canyon on July 17. Previously, two chicks - one in the Grand Canyon and one at Vermilion Cliffs National Monument -- had been observed and confirmed in May.

77 condors in Arizona & Utah
There are now 77 condors in the wild in Arizona and Utah, including the new chicks. A total of 18 chicks have hatched in the wild since condors were first introduced in Arizona in 1996. The new chicks are expected to take their first flights from the nest in late autumn. Young condors are dependent on their parents for approximately 18 months.

The recovery effort is a cooperative program by federal, state, and private partners, including The Peregrine Fund, Arizona Game and Fish Department, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Arizona Strip Field Office of the Bureau of Land Management, Grand Canyon and Zion national parks, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, and Kaibab and Dixie national forests.

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/utah-condor.html