On the Brink of Extinction: The California Condor
On the Brink of Extinction is the sobering and inspiring story of the fight to keep the California condors from dying out. With magnificent photographs and intriguing detail, this is a rare view of the groundbreaking program to preserve the largest flying bird in North America and to reestablish it in the wild. It chronicles the plight of the once plentiful California condor, from the attempt in the mid-1980s to capture the few remaining birds and breed them in California zoos, to future plans to reestablish them in the wild.
Soaring on wings spanning almost ten feet, California condors once ranged much of the North American continent. But by the mid-1980s, after decades of shooting, poisoning, and gradual habitat destruction, fewer than thirty of these impressive birds remained alive. Their extinction seemed inevitable. In a final attempt to save this endangered species, the last wild California condors were captured and brought to the Los Angeles Zoo and the San Diego Wild Animal Park, where they became part of an ongoing breeding program.
Since the first publication in 1993 of my book, ON THE BRINK OF EXTINCTION, many more condor chicks have hatched at both the Los Angeles Zoo and the San Diego Wild Animal Park. By the end of the 1995 breeding season the total number of California condors had reached 103, an amazing number considering that the population was once as low as 21 birds. The success of the breeding program has meant that there are more birds available for release to the wild. In August, eight more zoo-bred condors were released in Santa Barbara county in California, bringing the total number of free flying condors in California to 13. The next step in the recovery project for this highly endangered bird calls for releasing condors in a remote area of the Grand Canyon in Arizona. The aim of the release programs is to build up condor populations of 15 pairs of birds. And as birds become established at these places, additional sites elsewhere will be chosen to release and reestablish even more California condors in the wild. Many of the Andean condors raised from chicks hatched in North American zoos have been released in South America. Recently, biologists in Columbia reported that a pair of captive bred condors that are now living free have produced a fertile egg.
Today, in 2025, there are more than 500 condors, with more than 300 of them living in the wild--a testament to the success of the program detailed in this book.
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Measuring your wingspan.
What kind of bird would you be if you could fly? Here's how you can make your own wingspan measuring tape. Cut a piece of heavy paper (such as cardstock) in 1.5 inch strips. You will need eleven strips, each eleven inches long. Connect the strips with tape. (Strapping tape is the best, but any tape will do.) You will have now have a strip 121 inches long. Make a list of the wingspans of various birds. Then, using a yardstick or measuring tape, mark the tape to show the width of each bird's wingspan. Here are some of wingspans on my tape: emperor penguin, 32 inches; peregrine falcon, 3.5 feet; red-tailed hawk, 4.5 feet; flamingo, 5 feet; turkey vulture, 6 feet; golden eagle, 7 feet; bald eagle, 8 feet; California condor, 9.5 feet. You can add the wingspans of any birds you like. You will need two people to hold the ends of your tape. Then you can measure your wingspan. When you are not using the tape, it folds up like an accordion.
Arnold turns her pen to the plight of the endangered California Condor. Although she reveals the sad, stunning fact that in 1986 there was but one breeding pair of condors left in the wild, her book is a work of hope as it outlines scientists' attempts to save the bird from extinction. There is background information about the species' 40,000-year-old existence, its size, color, and eating habits. There are descriptions of the growing population, the shooting of the birds for sport, and the terrible scourge of DDT. The excellent full-color photographs and clear, engaging text are sure to capture the attention of readers; together, they record the daring mission to restore the condor to its rightful place. It would be hard to find better photographs; they show the bird in flight, engaged in courtship, birth, even at home in a giant sequoia tree. This is aimed at an older audience than Saving the Condor (Watts, 1991) by Nancy Schorsch. It is a treasure-trove for the eye and for the heart. --Amy Nunley, Toledo-Lucas County Public Library, OH