Three California condors were found dead in northern Arizona, and now officials know the cause.
The condors from the Arizona-Utah flock tested positive for the highly pathogenic avian influenza, the National Park Service said in a Friday, April 7, news release.
The first condor was seen showing signs of illness on March 9 by The Peregrine Fund.
The group that manages the Arizona-Utah flock first thought the bird had lead poisoning, officials said.
But the bird later tested positive for the avian flu after collecting the female’s body below its nest on March 20, officials said.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Veterinary Service Laboratory confirmed the cause of death March 30 after samples were taken from the bird.
As of April 4, two other birds in the flock have died from the avian flu, officials said in the release.
In addition, five other birds have died, and officials are waiting on test results.
The Peregrine Fund also caught five other birds that appeared to be ill and sent them to a wildlife rescue in Phoenix, officials said.
One bird died, and the four others were put in quarantine. Samples will be taken from the birds and tested.
Officials said the spread of avian flu will rise in the spring as birds migrate north.
The avian flu occurs naturally in birds, and it is classified into two groups, according to wildlife officials. Low pathogenic avian influenza viruses cause no “clinical illness, or only minor symptoms in birds.”
On the other end, the highly pathogenic avian flu is “extremely infectious and fatal to poultry and some species of wild birds.”
