C is for Carcass Run

(n.) also known euphemistically as a "Dairy Run"

We supplement the condors' diets with the carcasses of still-born calves from local dairies in the Bakersfield area. Think of it as recycling. If the condors are eating calves, they aren't eating game filled with lead shot (although, unfortunately, they still do that too). It aids us in catching the birds as well, familiarizing them with carcasses chained inside traps.

There are some 25 or 30 dairies we drive to. The calves are waiting there in a pile. The smell is overwhelming. Only calves with gel pads still on their hooves are eligible (the gel pads are there to protect the mother cow from injury during birth). These pads mean the calf has never stood, never eaten anything laced with hormones or antibiotics. Back at our house, we wash the calves, which in my mind at least feels like a small kindness for creatures who never knew anything but filth and muck. Sentimental, I know. Then it's into the freezer with them, until condor dinner-time anyway.