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December 8, 2006
CONDOR EXHIBIT OPENS AT PACIFIC
GROVE NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM
TWO NEW BOOKS
SHOWCASE EFFORTS TO BRING BACK THE CONDOR
On December
1, the Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History opened a new
permanent California condor exhibit. It features stunning photos
of condors soaring over the famed Big Sur coast by local
photographer Daniel Bianchetta (www.bigsurphoto.com).
The museum
is located at 165 Forest Avenue in Pacific Grove. Call for hours
and more information: (831) 648-5716
Also, two new books were
released in 2006 showcasing efforts to bring back the California
condor.
The first
book - Condor: To the Brink and Back - The Life and Times
of One Giant Bird - is a fascinating tale of survival by
NPR correspondent John Nielsen, who grew up in the small town of
Piru along the southern flank of the Los Padres National Forest.
From the inside cover:
"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.... 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."
And in
October, Return of the Condor: The Race to Save Our
Largest Bird from Extinction hit the bookshelves.
Written by John Moir, a naturalist and science editor whose
articles have appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle,
the San Jose Mercury News, the Sacramento Bee, and
others.
From the back cover: "Return of the Condor is a riveting account
of one of the most dramatic attempts to save a species from
extinction in the history of modern conservation. Return of the
Condor chronicles this epic story. We meet Jan Hamber, the
biologist who made the agonizing decision to capture AC9, the
young male who was the last living wild condor; Carl Koford, the
brilliant scientist whose flawed conclusions delayed a
captive-breeding program until it was almost too late; and two
of the condors whose survival was critical, including AC9
himself. There is tragedy and triumph in their stories. Today,
condors are more numerous and far easier to see than at any time
in the past century, and their expanding territory is home to
millions of Americans. For America’s 52 million birders and
anyone who cares about saving our natural heritage, this
inspiring story shows what happens when we commit ourselves to
working with nature instead of against it."
Hardcover
editions of both books are available at ForestWatch's official
Trading Post at a discount. All proceeds help protect your local
forest. |
