Prey-go-neesh, the Condors, Return to the Land of the Tall Trees Because of the Determination of the Yurok Tribe

Condor with tags. [Photo from the National Park Service]

Condor with tags. [Stock photo from the National Park Service]

On Monday evening, the Yurok Tribe released four young condors into the Northern California Condor Restoration Program’s flight pen. This pen is to help the birds acclimatize over the next few weeks until they can be released into the forests of the Redwood National and State Parks. Then the large birds will spread their wings in the northern California skies for the first time in about one hundred years.

The birds almost went extinct–only 23 were in the wild in the 1980’s but heroic efforts brought up their numbers.

Still, the tribe had to struggle to get the condor program to accept their area as a suitable site to release the birds. But, after almost twenty years, they’ve brought the birds to their land and will release them this spring. The prey-go-neesh, as the Yurok call the condor, are important to them culturally and as part of a healthy environment.

“We are extremely proud of the fact that our future generations will not know a world without prey-go-neesh,” said Joseph L. James, Chairman of the Yurok Tribe on their website.

The Yurok Tribe has a live feed of the four Condors here: https://www.yuroktribe.org/yurok-condor-live-feed

Facebooktwitterpinterestmail

Join the discussion! For rules visit: https://kymkemp.com/commenting-rules

Comments system how-to: https://wpdiscuz.com/community/postid/10599/

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

51 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
I like stars
Guest
I like stars
1 year ago

I can’t wait to see one of these amazing birds soaring over the beautiful Humboldt landscape.

Bozo
Guest
Bozo
1 year ago

Condor garments.

russiancapes_med_hr.png
Woed
Guest
Woed
1 year ago

I saw 5 above Ruth lake 2 days ago. My friend saw them also

thatguyinarcata
Guest
thatguyinarcata
1 year ago
Reply to  Woed

I believe my wife saw one in the Arcata bottoms two years ago as well.

I’ve wondered ever since if some had already arrived in the area from further south.

Don T MattaD
Member
Don T Matta
1 year ago

What your wife saw was likely a Turkey Vulture!!!

thatguyinarcata
Guest
thatguyinarcata
1 year ago
Reply to  Don T Matta

It’s possible. She expressed to me that she had seen “the weirdest looking turkey vulture” in the bottoms. When she described it it sounded like a condor and I pulled up a picture and showed her and she agreed that that was the bird she had seen. She was not aware of condors at the time.

You have not arrived at you destination!
Guest
You have not arrived at you destination!
1 year ago

I think they’re in an enclosure, getting used to things, if they’re up here yet at all. There’s nothing popping up on the live feed yet. It will take more than a few days for them to cruise Arcata, even if it is the center of the universe. I’m guessing it takes a bit of time for them to start breeding and repopulate the Ruth area. I just saw an eagle pretty close. It had a 7 ft wing span, and could have picked up a small dog. If what you saw was big, just wait till you see an actual condor!

Mr. BearD
Member
Mr. Bear
1 year ago

You need to go back to the live feed. They were there yesterday

thatguyinarcata
Guest
thatguyinarcata
1 year ago

I am not at all suggesting that she saw these condors. This was 2 years ago.

Captain CrunchD
Member
Captain Crunch
1 year ago

No.

Mr. BearD
Member
Mr. Bear
1 year ago
Reply to  Woed

No, you didn’t

Woed
Guest
Woed
1 year ago
Reply to  Mr. Bear

I absolutely did. I had just learned how to identify them and there they were the next day

Woed
Guest
Woed
1 year ago
Reply to  Woed

I can actually see one right now

Mr. BearD
Member
Mr. Bear
1 year ago
Reply to  Woed

Take a picture. You’ll be famous

Captain CrunchD
Member
Captain Crunch
1 year ago
Reply to  Woed

You were mistaken.

Woed
Guest
Woed
1 year ago
Reply to  Captain Crunch

White under the wings. It’s not to hard to tell

Ice
Guest
Ice
1 year ago
Reply to  Woed

Probably just turkey buzzards. Condors are about 3 times as lsrge as them.

Dano
Guest
Dano
1 year ago
Reply to  Woed

No, you didn’t. You probably saw turkey buzzards.

Mr. BearD
Member
Mr. Bear
1 year ago

Unbelievably cool. I’ve been waiting decades years for this to happen after it was first proposed

amazing!
Guest
amazing!
1 year ago

They did this all by themselves without modern science? I had no idea the Yurok tribe runs the condor program.

Mr. BearD
Member
Mr. Bear
1 year ago
Reply to  amazing!

Why would you assume the Yurok tribe doesn’t use modern science?

You OK?

senior
Guest
senior
1 year ago
Reply to  Mr. Bear

you took the bait

Mr. BearD
Member
Mr. Bear
1 year ago
Reply to  senior

That’s how you catch bears

yep
Guest
yep
1 year ago
Reply to  Mr. Bear

Im great thanks for asking. The article credits only the Yurok tribe for this, and modern science is not a product purely (or remotely close to primarily) of Indian origin.

Mr. BearD
Member
Mr. Bear
1 year ago
Reply to  yep

Wut?

is this “amazing!” under a different name.

Nothing in the article is false as far as I know.

Charlie
Guest
Charlie
1 year ago
Reply to  yep

Neither was fentynal.

You have not arrived at you destination!
Guest
You have not arrived at you destination!
1 year ago
Reply to  amazing!

All condors alive now have come from a captive breeding program somewhere down South. The Yurok have gotten themselves the inspirado to set up a program to start reintroducing the condors back into the wild up here. If say BLM, or State Parks had the institutional motivation, they could have worked towards setting up a program in the King Range, or Sinkyone. Our public lands tend to be just kinda maintained by folks just going through the motions, doing their time in stepping stone job positions.

yep
Guest
yep
1 year ago

So the Yurok have a breeding program down south, incredible!

Mr. BearD
Member
Mr. Bear
1 year ago
Reply to  yep

Nobody said that.

Dano
Guest
Dano
1 year ago
Reply to  yep

What is your problem?Are you trying to belittle what the Yurok Tribe is doing?

Bug on a Windshield
Guest
Bug on a Windshield
1 year ago

I wish all the best for these magnificent birds. While my personal favorites are the brilliant tricksters, crows and ravens, I’ve often times relaxed for long stretches on grassy hills marveling at the souls who soar on thermals. An ornithologist friend once said her favorite bird was the vulture because they harm no one and no thing. They literally clean the landscape of rot. I can admire that. I hope humans can learn to clean up their messes so this new generation of Condor never get the taste of antifreeze, a story I remember from the early 90s. However, as much as I am amazed by these creatures and the efforts to keep them alive, I think back to my anthropology instructor, in the late 80s, who said the Condors’ time has come and gone. He wasn’t unsympathetic, just stating that the large animal carcasses these birds once fed on, during the early part of this current Holocene epoch and into the earlier Pliocene epoch, no longer exist. Whether that is a human creation or an evolutionary phase is moot.

I wish all the best for these magnificent birds.

Last edited 1 year ago
Mr. BearD
Member
Mr. Bear
1 year ago

What about Christie’s ranch?

Last edited 1 year ago
Trashman
Guest
Trashman
1 year ago

I’m sure they loved the cattle carcasses along with the whale station leftovers of centuries past. Maybe they had a population boost then.

Dano
Guest
Dano
1 year ago

What about whales, seals, sea lions, elk, deer, salmon?

Thinkthenact
Guest
Thinkthenact
1 year ago

Nice to hear a good story. Happy soaring big birds.

Two Dogs
Guest
Two Dogs
1 year ago
Reply to  Thinkthenact

In 1956, was headed to CC from Gasquet in the old Ford with my parents. Came around a corner and there were a bunch of vultures feeding on a road kill in the middle of the road. They all scrambled out of the way except one who rose into the air late. He came through the windshield, into the back seat and threw up all over the place.

Noyb
Guest
Noyb
1 year ago
Reply to  Two Dogs

Did the bird survive? :-\

geezermeD
Member
geezerme
1 year ago
Reply to  Two Dogs

Childhood memories never forgotten.

Buster
Guest
Buster
1 year ago

A bird as dumb as liberals, Commiefornia doesn’t need anymore!!!!

Otto D Tayor
Guest
Otto D Tayor
1 year ago
Reply to  Buster

Bro, keep the magnificent birds, only they can actually eat the liberals…

You have not arrived at you destination!
Guest
You have not arrived at you destination!
1 year ago
Reply to  Buster

Who ya runnin for Governor?

Dano
Guest
Dano
1 year ago
Reply to  Buster

Then why is it research consistently finds that someone with low iQ/intelligence is more likely to be conservative?

Me and Mrs Jones
Guest
Me and Mrs Jones
1 year ago
Reply to  Dano

Are you speaking for the perps or their victims?

Low iq can be corellated to those who rely on others for their safety ,and security.

It will be Interesting to see how all the finger pointers defend themselves against the hell that’s coming

Rimme
Guest
Rimme
1 year ago

“Low iq can be corellated to those who rely on others for their safety ,and security.” you Jones say. Yeah, in the dang near flippin Stonage. I know, let’s all pack and over react lol.

Mack Sills
Guest
Mack Sills
1 year ago

I have been following this story for some years now. several years ago we went camping at Big Sur hoping for a glimpse, but, missed them. I want to go drive Bald Hill rd and explore the south end of hwy 169 and the river. It looks like an interesting area.

!

Lunah
Guest
Lunah
1 year ago

Thanks to y’all my children will see condors in their life! Great job!!!!!

Good for Them
Guest
Good for Them
1 year ago

Great news! Back in the early 70’s there were adventurous souls who would hike back into the mountains behind Santa Barbara and the Sespe area to get a glimpse of the wild ones which were not yet extinct. It seems so appropriate that the descendants of the Native American people who roamed the wild hills and valleys of this area have now joined the effort to restore these rare birds to their habitat. I’m sure the
Chumash (Santa Barbara Native Americans) have their own stories to tell about the condors!

Ernie Branscomb
Guest
Ernie Branscomb
1 year ago

It’s real easy to tell for sure that you have actually seen a California Condor… They have wing numbers.

It’s like when you first see a snake. You automatically think that it might be a rattlesnake, but when you see a rattlesnake, you know instantly what it is.

Smoky OG again
Guest
Smoky OG again
1 year ago

Yes they’re unmistakable.

Guess
Guest
Guess
1 year ago

Unless you know some real smart people! i know one who was SURE it wasn’t a baby rattle snake, very painful lesson! I never touched a snake again after I saw that I was probably 10 he was like 30, funny thing is he was a scientist lol

crap
Guest
crap
1 year ago

Are we not interfering with the natural order of things since these birds were not able to adapt to the changing environment? Should they not die off like the dinosaurs did long before people were around? We are dooming the world by unnaturally allowing weaker species to survive and could have dire ending for the whole world. People are part of the environment not set aside and if they can not survive our encroachment then they should not be around. This goes against the rules of natural selection and should be stopped.