California condor shot and killed in Tulare County, $15,000 reward offered

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- The Center for Biological Diversity has tripled its reward to $15,000 for information leading to the arrest of a person who shot and killed an endangered California condor in Tulare County.

According to a press release, the killing happened in May of 2018 on private property south of Hot Springs Road and east of Old Stage Coach Road.

After a necropsy performed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Wildlife Forensics Laboratory, it was determined the bird's cause of death was trauma from a gunshot wound.

The organization says another condor was shot in Kern County in July 2018.

While the species is recovering, only a few hundred California condors exist in the wild. Condors are protected under California law and the federal Endangered Species Act.

Anyone with details of the incident should call the Service's Office of Law Enforcement in Sacramento at (916) 569-8476. Callers can remain anonymous.