Condor: to the brink and back-- the life and times of one giant bird
The California condor
has been described as a bird
"with one wing in the grave."
Flying on wings nearly ten feet wide from tip to tip, these birds thrived on the carcasses of animals like woolly mammoths. Then, as humans began dramatically reshaping North America, the continent's largest flying land bird started disappearing. By the beginning of the twentieth century, extinction seemed inevitable.
But small groups of passionate individuals refused to allow the condor to fade away, even as they fought over how and why the bird was to be saved. Scientists, farmers, developers, bird lovers, and government bureaucrats argued bitterly and often, in the process injuring one another and the species they were trying to save. In the late 1980s, the federal government made a wrenching decision — the last remaining wild condors would be caught and taken to a pair of zoos, where they would be encouraged to breed with other captive condors.
Livid critics called the plan a recipe for extinction. After the zoo-based populations soared, the condors were released in the mountains of south-central California, and then into the Grand Canyon, Big Sur, and Baja California. Today the giant birds are nowhere near extinct.
The giant bird with "one wing in the grave" appears to be recovering, even as the wildlands it needs keep disappearing. But the story of this bird is more than the story of a vulture with a giant wingspan — it is also the story of a wild and giant state that has become crowded and small, and of the behind-the-scenes dramas that have shaped the environmental movement. As told by John Nielsen, an environmental journalist and a native Californian, this is a fascinating tale of survival.
9780061740640
Grouping Information
Grouped Work ID | d8dbe232-bda3-e056-6f29-15209d098f11 |
---|---|
Grouping Title | condor to the brink and back the life and times of one giant bird |
Grouping Author | john nielsen |
Grouping Category | book |
Grouping Language | English (eng) |
Last Grouping Update | 2024-04-23 02:10:41AM |
Last Indexed | 2024-04-23 02:21:57AM |
Solr Fields
The California condor
has been described as a bird
"with one wing in the grave."
Flying on wings nearly ten feet wide from tip to tip, these birds thrived on the carcasses of animals like woolly mammoths. Then, as humans began dramatically reshaping North America, the continent's largest flying land bird started disappearing. By the beginning of the twentieth century, extinction seemed inevitable.
But small groups of passionate individuals refused to allow the condor to fade away, even as they fought over how and why the bird was to be saved. Scientists, farmers, developers, bird lovers, and government bureaucrats argued bitterly and often, in the process injuring one another and the species they were trying to save. In the late 1980s, the federal government made a wrenching decision — the last remaining wild condors would be caught and taken to a pair of zoos, where they would be encouraged to breed with other captive condors.
Livid critics called the plan a recipe for extinction. After the zoo-based populations soared, the condors were released in the mountains of south-central California, and then into the Grand Canyon, Big Sur, and Baja California. Today the giant birds are nowhere near extinct.
The giant bird with "one wing in the grave" appears to be recovering, even as the wildlands it needs keep disappearing. But the story of this bird is more than the story of a vulture with a giant wingspan — it is also the story of a wild and giant state that has become crowded and small, and of the behind-the-scenes dramas that have shaped the environmental movement. As told by John Nielsen, an environmental journalist and a native Californian, this is a fascinating tale of survival.
eBook
eBook
9780061740640
2009
HarperCollins Publishers
Bird watching
Birds
California condor
Condors -- California
Electronic books
Endangered Species Protection Program (U.S.)
Nature
Special collections -- Sacramento Public Library
Wildlife
Condor : to the brink and back-- the life and times of one giant bird / John Nielsen
Condor To the Brink and Back—the Life and Times of One Giant Bird
Bird watching
Birds
California condor
Condors
Electronic books
Nature
Nonfiction
Sacramento Public Library
Special collections
Wildlife
Solr Details Tables
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hoopla:MWT16556650 | Online Hoopla Collection | Online Hoopla | eBook | eBook | 1 | false | true | Hoopla | https://www.hoopladigital.com/title/16508486?utm_source=MARC&Lid=hh4435 | Available Online |
record_details
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ils:.b17553982 | Book | Books | 1st ed | English | HarperCollins Publishers | c2006 | x, 257 p., [16] p. of plates : ill., map, ports. ; 22 cm. | |
overdrive:3d88c44b-4ae0-43fb-b990-edbba4611f0e | eBook | eBook | English | HarperCollins | 2009 | |||
hoopla:MWT16556650 | eBook | eBook | English | HarperCollins | 2009 | 1 online resource (288 pages) |
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overdrive:3d88c44b-4ae0-43fb-b990-edbba4611f0e | -2 | Available Online | Available Online | false | true | true | false | false | false | |||
hoopla:MWT16556650 | Available Online | Available Online | false | true | false | false | false | false |