California condor
The California condor (Gymnogyps californianus), is one of the biggest birds in the world. It has an average body length of 125 cm (49 in.) and the amazing wingspan of 2.77 meters (9 ft.). It is one of the rarest bird species on the world. In 1987 there were only 22 individuals left. This is when they put all the remaining individuals is captivity, and start a breeding program, which proved to be very fruitful.
In 1991, they started to release some condors back into the wild. Due to April 2009 there are 322 living individuals, including 172 in the wild. This is the most expensive species conservation project ever undertaken in the United States. This program is a good and rare example of what could be done in this situations, it shows the world what is real wildlife protection. I was lucky too see them up-close in the Grand Canyon…:D They were not too worried about our presence, and let us come very close, even to the point when we don’t wanted to go any further… they’re not the size of your average pigeon.
