From 27 Birds to More Than 500: The California Condor's Long Climb Back From the Brink
In 1987 every last condor was in captivity. Today over half of them fly free.
In 1987, just 27 California condors remained alive, every one of them in captivity — North America's largest bird was effectively extinct in the wild. Conservationists made a desperate bet on captive breeding and careful reintroduction.
It worked. The population has since grown to more than 500 birds, with over half now soaring free over the canyons of the American West — one of the great comeback stories in the history of conservation.