Another Way Lead Kills Condors

Bruce Robertson, a private detective, had little to go on. Two gunshot victims, one soon to be dead, both found in the Big Sur wilderness. The victims had brown eyes, ruddy faces and nine-foot wingspans. Ordinarily Mr. Robertson, of Los Angeles, hunts down philandering husbands and ferrets out insurance violators. But his skills are being tested in this latest mystery: the shootings of two endangered California condors. “It was really distressing to me,” said Peter Galvin, a founder of the Center for Biological Diversity, based in Tucson. “As soon as I heard, I knew we needed to get a dragnet and resources out there to capture this shooter.” Within 48 hours, Mr. Robertson was on the case — at the invitation of the center — and environmental groups, foundations and the state government had raised $40,500 in reward money for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the gunman or gunmen. Violation of the federal Endangered Species Act can result in a year in jail and a $100,000 fine. Mr. Robertson logged over 1,000 miles on his car. He stopped at diners, gas stations and bars from the craggy Big Sur coast eastward to the Pinnacles National Monument. He questioned men in tiny communities with names like Bitterwater. Occasionally, Mr. Robertson pulled over to talk condors and guns with ranch hands...NYTimes