Return of the Condor: The Race to Save Our Largest Bird from Extinction

Moir deftly chronicles the efforts of the dedicated biologists at the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service who work to save the California condor from extinction. Remarkable birds with 10-foot wing spans and the ability to fly 150 miles a day, the condors numbered only 27 in 1987, and, although members of the service's condor recovery program had for years been trying to help the population recover in the wild, all but one of the birds lived in captivity. After a bruising battle with those who opposed confining condors for any reason (including David Brower of Friends of the Earth), the biologists captured the remaining wild condor and put all their efforts into a captive breeding program. Moir, who has spent years writing about the recovery team's work, keeps the reader in suspense from the poignant moment when the last wild condor was captured to the triumphant morning in 1992 when the first birds raised in captivity were released. Today more than 125 California condors fly free. But as Moir convincingly shows, their environment is fraught with dangers. The book includes appendixes listing condor Web sites and places to view condors. (Oct.)