You
are here: Home > Condors > History
Condor
History
The
Fall and Rise of Condors | California
Condors in Oregon |
The Condor and Native American History
The
Fall and Rise of Condors
Population
Decline:
Condors soared over the mountains
of the Far West, from Canada to Mexico, up to the early
1800s. As a result of shooting, specimen and egg collecting,
pesticide and lead poisoning, and other factors, condor
numbers diminished dramatically. Only 22 California Condors
existed with 21 in the wild and one in captivity by 1982.
Due to the increasing mortality, all condors were brought
into captivity and a captive-breeding program was developed.
On April 19, 1987, the last wild condor was captured.
Population:
There are approximately 300 condors in the wild and captivity. There are approximately 150 now living in the wild in California, Arizona, and Baja California. The captive flock includes approximately 150 birds. See the latest condor population numbers.
Condors face many perils in the wild including lead poisoning, shootings, collision with power lines and predation by coyotes and golden eagles. Captive-born condors that put themselves at risk by interacting with people and structures are often recaptured, and free-flying birds are intensely monitored by radio telemetry.
Back
to Top
On
October 28, 1805, Lewis and Clark spotted
a huge bird near the junction of Wind River and the Columbia
River.
In their journal, they call it a "Vulture
of the Columbia." Another journal
entry, a few days later, notes "These
Buzzards are much larger than any of their
Species or the largest
Eagle." A
month later, a member of the expedition
killed one of the birds as it feasted on
the carcass of a beached
whale. The detailed description in their
journal entry for that day includes measurements
of wing span, and
the  lengths
of its neck, toenails and tail feathers,
leaving no doubt that the bird was what
we now call a California condor.
The
explorers noted several other condor sightings as they
proceeded toward the Pacific Ocean. They reported the
condor was "not rare" near the mouth of the
Columbia River on November 30, 1805. On February 16,
1806, they obtained a live condor specimen and thoroughly
examined it. Copious notes in their journal note a 9'
2" wingspan, red head, and whitish patches under
the wings. The explorers who brought the bird to Lewis
and Clark mentioned that it barked like a dog when they
approached it. On March 28, 1806, their journals mention
another interaction with condors: "...men
who had been sent after the deer returned and
brought in the
remnant which the vultures and Eagles had left
us; these birds had devoured 4 deer in the course
of a few hours."
Other
early explorers wrote of condors as well. David
Douglas shot a pair of condors near Multnomah
Falls (about 30 miles east of Portland) in
1828. Early
ornithologist, J. G. Cooper, described the
species feeding on dead salmon
along the Columbia River. In 1827, harsh
spring weather killed many horses at Fort
Vancouver,
Washington. Condors
were drawn in large numbers to the morbid
buffet. Despite
the numbers of condors seen by early visitors
to the Northwest, they were no match for
the guns and poisons
of newly arriving settlers. By 1850,
they were very rare. The last reliable report
was a sighting near
Drain in 1904.
The
Condor and Native American History
Condors
are a part of the natural history of Oregon, dating
before Lewis and Clark explored the Northwest. Condor
bones at least 9,000 years old have been unearthed
by archeologists in Oregon Indian middens and the condor
is a common design motif in the traditional art of
tribes such as the Wasco Indians, whose traditional
homelands are along the Columbia River from The Dalles
to Cascade Locks. Known as the Thunderbird in many
stories, the California condor was a helper to the
native people of the Pacific Northwest.
The Thunderbird is used in one form or another by most northwest tribes.
It was believed that it brought storms, rain, lightning, and thunder
to the people. While each tribe interpreted it a little differently,
it was used in art and decorations as a way to protect individuals and
tribes from evil spirits.
The Thunderbird was usually a friend to humans, a benevolent spirit seen
as the source of wisdom. The Kwakiutl said the Thunderbird taught them
how to build houses.
-
The
Wasco tribe along the Columbia River has always revered
condors, believing them capable of protecting humans
against natural disasters such as storms. They used
to raise chicks in the villages to adulthood, and
used their feathers in ceremony. They also have designs
representing them on their basketry.
-
Kwalhioqua-Clatskanie
tribes in northwestern Oregon and southwestern Washington
also tell stories of the condor as the immense Thunderbird.
In one story, a hero attaining power has a Thunderbird
helper bring a whale, an animal never seen by his
people before. He uses it for a potlatch and becomes
a great chief.
-
The
Quileute tribe in northwestern Washington relate
stories of how the Thunderbird provided their tribe
with a whale in a time of drought. The whale brought
life to the village and the Thunderbird was hailed
as a savior.
-
Many
bands in the northwest and other parts of the country
believe Thunderbird makes lightning by opening and
closing its eyes, and creates storms with its wings.
Also, some northwest tribes believe the Thunderbird
lives in caves near the Olympic Mountains and doesn't
let humans near its home.
-
The
Chehalis and Chinook Indians have a story about the
Thunderbird saying it originated out of a little
whale. A man who had caught the whale cut it with
a knife and it transformed into Thunderbird. The
Thunderbird then flew up and covered the sun, making
thunderous flaps with its wings and lightning flashes
with its eyes. The Thunderbird also was said to live
at the top of Saddleback Mountain, near the Columbia
River where it laid a nest of eggs. A giantess followed
Thunderbird, broke and ate the eggs, and from these
eggs mankind was produced.
-
The
same bands also believed that possessing any part
of this bird would be advantageous, a feather or
bone would bring good fortune. There is also a Thunderbird
performance said to have originated with the Nittinat
Indians and spread to bands in the Puget Sound and
further north. The ceremony includes hooting like
owls, howling like wolves, painting body parts and
faces black, cutting arms and legs to make scars,
pounding drums to represent thunder, flashing torches
to represent lightning and whistling to represent
wind.
-
Other
Northwest Indians, like the Kwakiutl, saw Thunderbird
as a great hunter of whales. It was said to hold
two lightning snakes in its talons and throw them
down on surfacing whales. The snakes would bite the
whale and Thunderbird would pick it up and carry
it back to its mountain home to eat. Thunderbird
was the personification of chief.
-
The
definition of Thunderbird according to the Nehalem
and Tillamook Indians is that the Thunderbird is
chief among the Tillamook supernaturals. It was believed
to be dangerous but also a great source of power
to those who survive an encounter with him and was
hospitable in his own household.
-
One
Tillamook story tells of a fisherman caught by Thunderbird
who is more of a huge human-like figure than a bird.
Thunderbird takes the man to his home where his equally
giant wife lives. Thunderbird fed the man whale meat.
Thunderbird and his wife enjoy the company of the
human and eventually take the man back to his village.
-
The
Kathlamet Chinooks describing their first encounter
with non-Indians even had reference to Thunderbird.
The first ship anchored in the Columbia, must have
fired a cannon to awe or frighten them, which was
seen as lightning flashing from the spirit bird's
eyes, and the thunder from his beating wings, which
spread smoke carrying the seeds of pestilence and
death.
Links to pages about the “Thunderbird” including
information about myths and art.
References
Bagley, Clarence B. Indian Myths of the Northwest. Lowman and Hanford
Company, Seattle, Washington 1972.
Manlin, Edward. Northwest Coast Indian Painting:
House Fronts and Interior Screens. Timber Press,
Portland, Oregon 1999.
Nehalem Tillamook Tales. Told by Clara Pearson, recorded by Elizabeth
Jacobs, and edited by Melville Jacobs.
Ruby, Robert H. and Brown, John A. The Chinook Indians: Traders
of the Lower Columbia River. University of Oklahoma Press, 1976.
Stewart, Hilary. Looking at Indian Art of the Northwest Coast.
Douglas and McIntyre, Vancouver, B.C., 1979.
|
