The California condor population reached its low point in 1982, when 22 birds survived worldwide. Chicks taken from wild nests and captive breeding raised that total slowly, so when the last free-flying individual was trapped in April 1987 there were 27 condors in captivity. The decision to remove the last wild birds was fiercely contested; the alternative was watching the wild population reach zero. Releases began in 1992, and the total has since passed five hundred, with a majority flying free.
The cause of death has not changed. Condors feeding on carcasses and gut piles ingest fragments of lead ammunition, and lead poisoning is repeatedly identified as the leading mortality factor in released birds. Free-flying condors are routinely trapped for blood testing and chelation treatment.
That dependence is what keeps the species Critically Endangered rather than recovered. The population is numerically larger but not yet self-sustaining, and the genetic base is narrower still: of the 27 captive birds, 14 became genetic founders, which leaves little room for further loss.