ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:

There is a vaccination effort underway in California, not for COVID or the unusual flu. In truth, the sufferers should not even human. They’re a few of the largest birds on the earth – California condors. Ashleigh Blackford is the California condor coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and he or she is overseeing the hassle to vaccinate these endangered birds in opposition to the avian flu. Welcome to ALL THINGS CONSIDERED.

ASHLEIGH BLACKFORD: Thanks, Ari. It is so good to be right here.

SHAPIRO: How do you vaccinate a California condor? I am picturing folks climbing up cliffs with syringes to search out monumental nests. Like, how does this work?

BLACKFORD: Nicely, nice query. And fortunately, that is not what we have to undergo. Our California condor restoration program truly has an intensive monitoring effort of our wild birds, and that features annual trapping occasions the place we do well being checks on the birds. And in order that shall be our prime alternative to vaccinate for avian influenza, if we take that subsequent step.

SHAPIRO: And so are these birds simply getting vaccinated on their annual checkups? As a result of there’s actual urgency right here. I imply, greater than a dozen have died since March. The condors are already critically endangered. You are dealing with a while strain.

BLACKFORD: We’re. So – however first, earlier than we begin vaccinating the wild condors, we’re implementing a trial. And that is what USDA permitted, was for us to provoke a vaccination trial. First, we’re beginning with surrogate birds, that are going to be black vultures. We wish to ensure that this vaccine that was developed for poultry goes to be secure for our wild birds. So we’re testing it first in black vultures. After which we are going to vaccinate a few of our captive birds as a part of that trial as effectively. After which as soon as we have gone by way of that sort of security trial, seeing an immune response from our birds, then we’ll flip and begin vaccinating the wild birds.

SHAPIRO: I believe many individuals are conscious of what a heroic and profitable effort it was to carry the California condor again from the brink of extinction. Are you afraid that that progress might be undone by the avian flu proper now?

BLACKFORD: I imply, this undoubtedly appears like a setback, particularly for our southwest flock in Arizona. I imply, they’ve misplaced virtually 20% of their wild flock. I’ll say, although, fortunately, large image for this program, the technique round California condor restoration is that we have now a number of populations on the panorama and that by doing that, you may have what the Fish and Wildlife Service staff seek advice from as redundancy on the panorama. And by having these a number of populations, you construct resiliency to stochastic occasions like this, like a virus outbreak.

SHAPIRO: We’re speaking about this iconic, majestic species that’s critically endangered. However avian flu is affecting wild chicken populations all around the nation. Is that this only a microcosm of what the chicken inhabitants of america faces proper now? I imply, how critical is that this outbreak?

BLACKFORD: Nicely, we’re seeing this virus affect wild populations at a unprecedented stage. Why this specific pressure appears to be having such excessive mortality charges and in all types of species, you recognize, we actually cannot say. It is simply sort of the luck of virus evolution, I’d say. However we have now seen these virus outbreaks earlier than. You already know, early within the 2000s, West Nile got here by way of. And they’re novel viruses that wild birds should not uncovered to. And so you may see these massive spikes of mortality. And ideally, over time, we sort of attain an equilibrium with these viruses, and the birds achieve pure immunity, they usually’re capable of rebound. It is populations just like the California condor which are very small, that do not have that sturdy inhabitants – we simply take a extremely large hit as a result of we do not have the depth of a inhabitants to permit for that pure immunity to construct. And in order that’s actually one of many the reason why we wish to vaccinate – is as a result of we do not have numbers that may maintain the time that it would take for these populations to realize an immunity.

SHAPIRO: Wildlife biologist Ashleigh Blackford is the California condor coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Thanks a lot.

BLACKFORD: Thanks.

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