California is home to a high-tech wildfire detection network that monitors the landscape with over 1,000 high-definition cameras. While these systems help fire agencies act fast, they occasionally capture rare views of local wildlife.
On Monday, managers at ALERTCalifornia spotted two visitors on their equipment. Two critically endangered California condors perched on a camera mount located on a mountain southeast of Bakersfield in the Bear Valley Springs area. The birds remained on the hardware for several hours, from late afternoon until midnight.
This is a significant moment for the species. California condors nearly reached extinction in the 1980s, when conservationists moved the remaining birds into captivity for a controlled breeding program. That work resulted in a population increase to more than 600 birds today. Roughly 400 of these large birds, which boast a 10-foot wingspan, now fly free across California, Arizona, Utah, and Baja California.
The public reaction was swift, with many people noting the humor of the birds appearing to strike a pose for a selfie or a rap album cover. The ALERTCalifornia network, based at the University of California, San Diego, provides vital data for fire suppression. Seeing these majestic creatures on the cameras serves as a reminder of the wildlife that shares the terrain with the monitoring infrastructure.