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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.
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.
272 pages, Hardcover
First published February 1, 2006
18 people are currently reading
126 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
April 7, 2020
These birds strike me as fascinating and I hoped this book would provide more real information about the bird than it did.
Granted, in the title it says, "to the brink and back", but I didn't realize that mostly this was going to be a saga between various activist groups, all who claimed to be trying to save this phenomenal bird from extinction.
Some of the groups were as loony as a tune. They felt that they were "saving" the condor by demonstrating against every other attempt to protect the bird, mostly the government agencies who were trying to capture the last two birds, have them breed in captivity and then release them back to their natural habitat.
The activists demanded that the birds stay in their natural habitat, any removal was a transgression against the birds' rights. Sort of an ACLU for animals set up. This group failed to explain how, since WWII, the Condor was not thriving so well in its natural habitat. There's a lot of reasons for that, but the main thing the government agency was attempting was to repopulate and then protect their natural environment. This is what this particular "Save the Condor" group refused to see or understand.
Then there was the unrecognized Native American group that said the Condor was the Spirit something or other and they demanded to pray, dance and sprinkle holy water over the birds before they were taken, but that was only after they failed to get the government to release the birds on their "Sacred Condor Island", which was not a natural habitat of the bird and would have guaranteed its demise. They said the Condor would curse them otherwise.
Did I mention all this takes place in California? Or did you guess that already?
I learned there are a lot of rabid people out there who desperately need to fight for something, I suppose to impute their lives with meaning. But I did not learn so much about the Condor.
Granted, in the title it says, "to the brink and back", but I didn't realize that mostly this was going to be a saga between various activist groups, all who claimed to be trying to save this phenomenal bird from extinction.
Some of the groups were as loony as a tune. They felt that they were "saving" the condor by demonstrating against every other attempt to protect the bird, mostly the government agencies who were trying to capture the last two birds, have them breed in captivity and then release them back to their natural habitat.
The activists demanded that the birds stay in their natural habitat, any removal was a transgression against the birds' rights. Sort of an ACLU for animals set up. This group failed to explain how, since WWII, the Condor was not thriving so well in its natural habitat. There's a lot of reasons for that, but the main thing the government agency was attempting was to repopulate and then protect their natural environment. This is what this particular "Save the Condor" group refused to see or understand.
Then there was the unrecognized Native American group that said the Condor was the Spirit something or other and they demanded to pray, dance and sprinkle holy water over the birds before they were taken, but that was only after they failed to get the government to release the birds on their "Sacred Condor Island", which was not a natural habitat of the bird and would have guaranteed its demise. They said the Condor would curse them otherwise.
Did I mention all this takes place in California? Or did you guess that already?
I learned there are a lot of rabid people out there who desperately need to fight for something, I suppose to impute their lives with meaning. But I did not learn so much about the Condor.
October 14, 2007
The information on the natural history of the condor was interesting, and the reason I wanted to read this book. However, much of it is about the history of California and the various people that have played a role in either preserving or decimating the condor population.
I thought this would be an uplifting book, about condors coming back from the brink of extinction, but I found it extremely depressing. Let's just say the history of California is a trail of destruction, death, and the raping of nature, forged by cruel and seedy characters who landed in the garden of Eden and crapped in it.
I thought this would be an uplifting book, about condors coming back from the brink of extinction, but I found it extremely depressing. Let's just say the history of California is a trail of destruction, death, and the raping of nature, forged by cruel and seedy characters who landed in the garden of Eden and crapped in it.
April 29, 2022
Good book on a complicated issue. Condors are both ugly and majestic, and simultaneously represent conservation failure and success. Nielson explains the complex story of the California condor in an easily digestible and relatable fashion. 4 stars.
July 23, 2017
As a person who is very afraid of birds, I'm not sure why I chose this book to read. However, I'm glad I did.
If you read it you will learn about how civilization and mankind have intentionally and unintentionally adversely effected the condor. You will also read about how scientists and volunteers have brought the condor back from the edge of extinction.
I checked the web today and learned that there are 332 living condors and the about 200 of these live in the wild. I was also amazed to learn that a condor can live to be 50 or sixty years old. So, let's hope the condor can continue its resurgance.
If you like to read about science and nature, this book is for you.
If you read it you will learn about how civilization and mankind have intentionally and unintentionally adversely effected the condor. You will also read about how scientists and volunteers have brought the condor back from the edge of extinction.
I checked the web today and learned that there are 332 living condors and the about 200 of these live in the wild. I was also amazed to learn that a condor can live to be 50 or sixty years old. So, let's hope the condor can continue its resurgance.
If you like to read about science and nature, this book is for you.
February 14, 2013
Simply outstanding book about the natural history of the California condor, its decline over the last few centuries, and the heroic, sophisticated and controversial efforts to save the species since the 1960s, efforts that proved to be successful. Great stories about California before the coming of the Americans, beautiful descriptions of southern California's landscapes, forests and mountains, and an interesting array of naturalists, birders, villains and environmentalists, as well as individual condors themselves, who make this book a great one.
Read
February 23, 2013A history of the great California bird from its heyday to near demise, capture and reintroduction into the wild. Information about the bird is considerably more enlivening than the bureaucratic battles of zoologists split between interventionists and hands off types (I tired of the holier than thou hands off'ers) but this war is a big part of the story. What remains up in the air is whether the reintroduced condors will perpetuate the species. Freaky fact: Richard Nixon signed the Endangered Species Act.
December 28, 2012
An interestingly written, highly readable account of the California Condor's near-extinction and the fight to recover the condor's population. Although the author's occasional political stabs are mildly irritating, he does an excellent job of respectfully presenting opposing viewpoints on the condor recovery program.
September 23, 2011
Very interesting book, awesome bird. Lots of history, from people who kept the birds as pets, to egg collectors to a pig farmer who shot one of the birds because he "didn't know what it was." I love that logic. Don't know what it is? Kill it.
June 15, 2019
Fantastic and well-researched book on the complex issues surrounding the California Condor. A fair presentation of the conflict between those who supported a captive breeding program, and those who wished the bird to remain wild. Excellent historical background, and delightfully written as well.
Currently reading
March 12, 2009Interesting giant...
March 21, 2018
Nielsen presents an artfully written, accessible account of the California Condor's ongoing struggle with extinction in a way that seems more like a well-told tale than a textbook. This book is quite important because it provides a way for those not completely involved in science or biology to understand the history of an important bird that many people have expressed a passion for (either positive or negative) for a number of years. My only critique is that sometimes, in an effort to give the book a more "magazine feature piece" feel, Nielsen takes away from the point of the book and delves into small details noticed by himself while conducting interviews or into personal anecdotes. It's small, but it's large enough to take away from the main focus of the book: the bird itself. I often find that authors who write about the life histories of a particular species can't help but to include a bit of information about themselves as they project their feelings onto the species. However, I think since Nielsen is a journalist and really has no measurable emotional ties to the California Condor (except seeing them in his childhood), this takes away from his credibility.
February 10, 2025
4.5 stars. This is just as much a book about the history of California, its colonization, and the way colonists have ripped and continue to rip the natural beauty from the state as it is a book about the natural and conservation history of the California Condor. In parts, it's a painful read because colonization is such a painful experience for the indigenous people of the Americas alongside the flora and fauna that call it home. It is painful, however, for that point, and it's a past we do need to confront. I particularly like how John Nielsen approaches and writes about this subject, and I appreciate how he detailed the multi-faceted and sometimes ugly, sometimes beautiful campaign to the save the California Condor. I think it shows how complicated conservation is and how it's not always what everyone thinks of.
October 16, 2017
As an animal care professional, it was very interesting to read this account of all the work, politics, etc that went into condor recovery efforts. It seems especially relevant as scientists are preparing to capture the remaining vaquitas to save them from extinction as well. Knowing even more of the challenges now has made my desire even stronger to see these amazing birds in the wild.
April 19, 2018
"DDT killed eggs of birds that ate live prey, and not the scavenging condors", a Google search of Condors and DDT gives different results. One other: "Santa Catalina island, a wildlife refuge west of the Ventura coast." Catalina is not west of Ventura but lies to the south east but there is a Channel Island refuge so maybe geography is not the author's strong suit.
February 4, 2019
A huge lesson on how to recover a species...or at least how to try to do that in the face of intense pressures on the landscape. As a biologist, this story plucked at my heart strings in so many ways. As a piece of science communication, it's a good one.
March 5, 2008
For the sake of brevity, I have combined my thoughts here with my reading of “Return Of The Condor: The Race To Save Our Largest Bird From Extinction” by John Moir. Both books are enjoyable and complement each other effectively but Moir’s book was more detailed and better written so I would give it the nod over Nielsen’s. However, Nielsen gave greater coverage to the recovery effort in Northern Arizona; Moir hardly mentions Arizona and concentrates instead on California.
The California Condor fortunately does not occupy the rarefied strata of a grail bird but it almost reached that nadir when the population plummeted to 22 birds in 1982. From a long gone era Condors once roamed across large portions of the United States where available food sources and suitable nesting sites could be located. Faced with their inevitable extinction, all wild Condors were trapped and placed in captivity in 1987, bringing to a sorrowful end a relic of the Pleistocene epoch perhaps now not quite suited to the modern world. An intense, long and controversial recovery program was initiated but no one really knew where this would eventually lead. Could Condors breed in captivity? Could poisons and lead bullets from hunter killed game be eliminated? Lead being a significant cause of excruciating pain and death of carcass feeding condors. The lead and poison battles still rage today. Could the meme of the Condor be successfully learned by captive raised and then freed birds? All these questions and hundreds more required appropriate resolutions that could be safely and readily integrated into the program. The effort was a daunting, staggering challenge among contentious interests and reduced to its most basic argument came down to “Captive or Forever Free” versus “Temporarily Captive or Forever Dead!!!!”
Last year I visited the Grand Canyon and learned that 60 wild California Condors now inhabit Northern Arizona; I was fortunate to see 12. From imagining free ranging Condors over inland evanescent seas of the Pleistocene era to magnificent wild birds now soaring over the mosaic rocks of the Grand Canyon was to me, a close encounter of the grail kind!! Today the total Condor population numbers approximately 280 with the wild population about 135 birds.
I would encourage everyone to make the effort to see these magnificent creatures and both books go a long way in providing the reasons why.
The California Condor fortunately does not occupy the rarefied strata of a grail bird but it almost reached that nadir when the population plummeted to 22 birds in 1982. From a long gone era Condors once roamed across large portions of the United States where available food sources and suitable nesting sites could be located. Faced with their inevitable extinction, all wild Condors were trapped and placed in captivity in 1987, bringing to a sorrowful end a relic of the Pleistocene epoch perhaps now not quite suited to the modern world. An intense, long and controversial recovery program was initiated but no one really knew where this would eventually lead. Could Condors breed in captivity? Could poisons and lead bullets from hunter killed game be eliminated? Lead being a significant cause of excruciating pain and death of carcass feeding condors. The lead and poison battles still rage today. Could the meme of the Condor be successfully learned by captive raised and then freed birds? All these questions and hundreds more required appropriate resolutions that could be safely and readily integrated into the program. The effort was a daunting, staggering challenge among contentious interests and reduced to its most basic argument came down to “Captive or Forever Free” versus “Temporarily Captive or Forever Dead!!!!”
Last year I visited the Grand Canyon and learned that 60 wild California Condors now inhabit Northern Arizona; I was fortunate to see 12. From imagining free ranging Condors over inland evanescent seas of the Pleistocene era to magnificent wild birds now soaring over the mosaic rocks of the Grand Canyon was to me, a close encounter of the grail kind!! Today the total Condor population numbers approximately 280 with the wild population about 135 birds.
I would encourage everyone to make the effort to see these magnificent creatures and both books go a long way in providing the reasons why.
October 4, 2011
The book itself was a bit disappointing as half of it was exceedingly depressing. Neilsen starts out describing the debate that raged over the decision to trap the last wild condors and put them in zoos for a captive breeding program. The descriptions of sitting in a blind with bated breath waiting for the last free flying condor named Igor to land on a carcass for trapping hooked me into the story. Then Neilsen spends the next few chapters taking readers back in time to explore the history of how the California condor came to having less than thirty surviving members of the species. Mostly he goes into detail of how humans entered the pristine wilderness of America and shot, hunted, trapped, poisoned, maimed, tortured, and otherwise killed pretty much every other living thing in their path, including the condors. It made me so angry at human kind and depressed that I had to stop reading for a while.
Days later I picked up the book and slogged through the rest of that section and found myself once again engrossed in the more recent history of the captive breeding and release program. The United States government has spent over $20 million dollars since the start of the program many decades ago to restore the big black birds with a ten food wing span. Condors have been around since the Pleistocene Era when Saber Tooth Tigers and Mastodons roamed the American wilds. While a lot of biologists, environmentalists, government officials, and everyday lay people wanted to do something about the condor, it seemed almost no one could agree on how to go about it. Rather than being an uplifting story of rescuing a majestic creature, the book describes the harsh reality of political squabbles and outright hate between rival conservationists. It frustrated me that people would get so worked up and stuck on their own ideas on how to go about saving a species that they would publicly defame and deface people who have the exact same goal as they do. If people had just compromised and worked together I think the restoration effort could have gone much more smoothly. Still, the condors are dying of lead poisoning from ingesting shot while feasting on carcasses left behind by game hunters. Regardless, the book ends on a somewhat hopeful note of releasing Igor back into the wild with a total condor population over 200. I feel I learned a lot from the book, but did not really enjoy most of it.
Days later I picked up the book and slogged through the rest of that section and found myself once again engrossed in the more recent history of the captive breeding and release program. The United States government has spent over $20 million dollars since the start of the program many decades ago to restore the big black birds with a ten food wing span. Condors have been around since the Pleistocene Era when Saber Tooth Tigers and Mastodons roamed the American wilds. While a lot of biologists, environmentalists, government officials, and everyday lay people wanted to do something about the condor, it seemed almost no one could agree on how to go about it. Rather than being an uplifting story of rescuing a majestic creature, the book describes the harsh reality of political squabbles and outright hate between rival conservationists. It frustrated me that people would get so worked up and stuck on their own ideas on how to go about saving a species that they would publicly defame and deface people who have the exact same goal as they do. If people had just compromised and worked together I think the restoration effort could have gone much more smoothly. Still, the condors are dying of lead poisoning from ingesting shot while feasting on carcasses left behind by game hunters. Regardless, the book ends on a somewhat hopeful note of releasing Igor back into the wild with a total condor population over 200. I feel I learned a lot from the book, but did not really enjoy most of it.
August 22, 2014
If cats have nine lives, then the California condor as a species must be their equal. These birds have stepped to the edge of the extinction cliff and ALMOST fallen to a crushing collapse. After reading their story, you have to wonder if the creator was playing a cruel joke on this ancient and giant bird. First, with the exception of the huge black body and their graceful soaring, they aren't what you would call "easy on the eyes." They have a number of disgusting habits, and to top it off, they settled on Southern California as home (i.e., this place is being consumed by development at an alarming rate).
Condors to the Brink and Back - covers this bird's life history all the way to the release of zoo raised birds into the wilds of California and Arizona. With each chapter that John Nielsen writes in their life history I felt like, "Okay, this is it. These birds aren't going to survive this one." In the end, the species (read: humans) which puts them against the ropes, is ultimately the same species which comes to their rescue. Nielsen introduces all the key players in what at times resembles a less-than-unified effort to save the mighty condor.
Nearing the end of the book, what becomes apparent is man's role as the crutch the fragile condor must lean against to survive. As more condors raised in captivity are released into the wild, their dependency on wildlife biologists and zoo care-takers can begin to crumble. Encouraging news about California condors breeding and fledging new birds in their natural habitat is happening with greater frequency and spreading over a wider range including Mexico.
Their longer term survival looks brighter and brighter. But some of the threats that put these birds on the brink of collapse are still present today in the form of lead pellets and bullets in downed game which the condors ingest and the ever shrinking range land which they inhabit. For the time being, we have the California condor back to grace our skies, and play an important role as one of nature's big body snatchers.
Condors to the Brink and Back - covers this bird's life history all the way to the release of zoo raised birds into the wilds of California and Arizona. With each chapter that John Nielsen writes in their life history I felt like, "Okay, this is it. These birds aren't going to survive this one." In the end, the species (read: humans) which puts them against the ropes, is ultimately the same species which comes to their rescue. Nielsen introduces all the key players in what at times resembles a less-than-unified effort to save the mighty condor.
Nearing the end of the book, what becomes apparent is man's role as the crutch the fragile condor must lean against to survive. As more condors raised in captivity are released into the wild, their dependency on wildlife biologists and zoo care-takers can begin to crumble. Encouraging news about California condors breeding and fledging new birds in their natural habitat is happening with greater frequency and spreading over a wider range including Mexico.
Their longer term survival looks brighter and brighter. But some of the threats that put these birds on the brink of collapse are still present today in the form of lead pellets and bullets in downed game which the condors ingest and the ever shrinking range land which they inhabit. For the time being, we have the California condor back to grace our skies, and play an important role as one of nature's big body snatchers.
July 18, 2016
Condor: To the Brink and Back: the Life and Times of One Giant Bird by John Nielsen (Harper 2006)(598.92). Described as "a bird with one foot in the grave," the California Condor was headed for extinction in the 1980's. These birds, giants at nearly ten feet from wingtip to wingtip, had thrived in their niche from the time that much of their diet was from the carcasses of woolly mammoth. Now there were so few remaining wild condors that the decision was made to capture all of those remaining and to force them into a captive breeding program at two U.S. zoos. This move was criticized as sealing the condor's extinction. Happily, the program has been a success, and many more condors have been released into the wild than previously existed. The problem is not solved, however, until California finds a way to provide a stable and secure habitat for these magnificent giants of the air. My rating: 7.5/10, finished 2006.
July 7, 2016
This was an interesting look into the life of the California condor, from its ancient presence in North America to its near-extinction to its current shaky recovery. The book is well written and kept me interested. I was surprised to read just how controversial the recovery program was when it began. Even though their numbers are much greater now, the population still isn't out of the woods yet and is still being maintained by people who supply food for the birds and monitor their lives.
July 29, 2009
An excellent timeline and narrative of the near-complete demise and jubilant return of the California Condor. The people who worked on this project, and fought about how to accomplish it over the decades-long process, are described in detail, including many scenes of their work both in the feild, and in the zoos.
December 31, 2010
Interesting, chatty book on what turns out to be one of the great question marks of the efforts to save endangered species, the California condor. Has it been "saved"? Transformed? Rescued? Returned to the wild? Is any of that possible?
What amazes me is how close I lived to it all. And never saw one.
What amazes me is how close I lived to it all. And never saw one.
March 12, 2016
On my first visit to the Grand Canyon, on the first afternoon I was lucky to see a California Condor sitting on the South Rim near Verkamps. I have been fascinated with them ever since. This book chronicles the decline and reemergence of the condors in California and their reintroduction to the Grand Canyon area.
May 6, 2017
Interesting account
Having grown up in the 1980s and 1990s, I was aware of the plight of many endangered raptors. I knew a little about the condor recovery project but this book filled in the rest of the information. It's a very thorough account, well-written, humorous, and interesting. Great for birders, conservationists, and historians alike.
Having grown up in the 1980s and 1990s, I was aware of the plight of many endangered raptors. I knew a little about the condor recovery project but this book filled in the rest of the information. It's a very thorough account, well-written, humorous, and interesting. Great for birders, conservationists, and historians alike.
July 8, 2017
Excellent overview of the history of the condor's plight! After seeing condors myself at Pinnacles National Monument a few years back, I would love to find something that is updated to include some of the more recent research, as this one only covers up until about 2004.
January 30, 2013
It's amazing how the small groups of people who want to save the California condor cannot stop fighting with each other about how to save it.
June 4, 2015
A very interesting look at the California Condor's plight through history. I was amazed.
April 20, 2017
Worth reading of interested in wildlife
I enjoyed the book and learned a lot.
I highly recommend the book.
I wonder if I'll ever see one.
I enjoyed the book and learned a lot.
I highly recommend the book.
I wonder if I'll ever see one.
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews