Award-winning and best-selling author Sy Montgomery turns her talents to the story of California condors and the scientists who have fought against their extinction.

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.

“A heart-stopping saga of the rescue from the very brink of extinction of one of the grandest of all birds.”—Thomas Lovejoy, president of the Amazon Biodiversity Center. RETURN OF THE CONDOR is the riveting account of one of the most dramatic attempts to save a species from extinction in the history of modern conservation. Features a new Afterword by the author. With the condor’s population down to only twenty-two birds in the 1980s and their very survival in doubt, the condor recovery team flouted conventional wisdom and pursued a controversial strategy to pull the bird back from the brink of extinction. Thus began the ongoing, decades-long program to reestablish America’s largest bird in its ancient home in Western skies. Award-winning science writer John Moir takes readers into the backcountry to get to know the recovery program scientists as well as some of the individual condors. These are stories of peril, uncertainty, and controversy. Woven throughout these tales of heartbreak and triumph is the extraordinary dedication of the humans who have sometimes risked their lives for this charismatic, intelligent, and social bird. Despite the program’s remarkable successes, the condor’s narrative is still unfolding with a number of challenges remaining. This includes the dilemma of lead poisoning among free-flying condors that is a major obstacle to the bird’s recovery. The new Afterword presents a compelling examination of the progress and continuing adversity facing the condor recovery effort since the first edition of the book was published. Finalist for the William Saroyan International Writing Prize from the Stanford University Libraries Honorable Mention from the National Association of Science Writers

2011 Sibert Medal Winner On remote Codfish Island off the southern coast of New Zealand live the last ninety-one kakapo parrots on earth. These trusting, flightless, and beautiful birds—the largest and most unusual parrots on earth—have suffered devastating population loss. Now, on an island refuge with the last of the species, New Zealand’s National Kakapo Recovery Team is working to restore the kakapo population. With the help of fourteen humans who share a single hut and a passion for saving these odd ground-dwelling birds, the kakapo are making a comeback in New Zealand. Follow intrepid animal lovers Sy Montgomery and Nic Bishop on a ten-day excursion to witness the exciting events in the life of the kakapo.

From award-winning author and photographer April Pulley Sayre comes a stunning photographic look at the fascinating lives of frogs. A frog is a being. It is watching. It is seeing… Frogs are amazing creatures, and this book offers young readers an up-close and revealing peek at their everyday lives. Follow them from egg to tadpole to froglet crawling up onto land for the first time. Watch them resting on a favorite log, searching for food, and leaping through the air. And see how frogs are unique, individual beings with rich lives all their own in the wild.

Dr. Greg Skomal, biologist and head of the Massachusetts Shark Research Program, is investigating a controversial possibility: Might Cape Cod’s waters serve as a breeding ground for the great white shark, the largest and most feared predatory fish on Earth? Sy Montgomery and Keith Ellenbogen report on this thrilling turning point in marine research and travel to Guadeloupe, Mexico, to get up close and personal with the sharks. This daring expedition into the realm of great whites shows readers that in order to save the planet and its creatures, we must embrace our humanity and face our greatest fears. This is an ideal read for Shark Week or anytime!

Was it too late to save the California condor? For thousands of years, these amazing birds soared above North America. Yet by the mid-1900s, hunting and contaminated food supplies had pushed condors to the brink of extinction. Could scientists and wildlife officials find a way to help the California condor survive? In California Condors: Saved by Captive Breeding, children relive the inspiring and heroic efforts of people who stepped in to save this remarkable creature when all seemed lost. Through this true tale of wildlife survival, kids discover the bold and creative ideas that Americans and their government have used to protect and care for the country’s endangered wildlife.

The author of The Frog Scientist showcases the work of the Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project in “an outstanding science nature title” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) Mountain gorillas are playful, curious, and protective of their families. They are also one of the most endangered species in the world. For years, mountain gorillas have faced the threat of death by poachers. Funds raised by “gorilla tourism”—bringing people into the forest to see gorillas—have helped protect them. This tourism is vital but contact between gorillas and people brought a new threat to the gorillas: human disease. The Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project is a group of scientists working to save the mountain gorilla population in Rwanda and Uganda. The gorilla doctors study the effects of human exposure, provide emergency care, and act as foster parents to an orphaned gorilla. “Excellent photographs prominently feature the scientists at work (predominantly women and people of color in scientific roles) as well as the photogenic gorillas.”—Horn Book, starred review “The author, who has a degree in public health, is especially successful in explaining how improving community public health benefits both gorillas and humans. Spectacular and appealing photos of gorillas, scientists and the Rwanda Preserve add even more appeal.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review) “The readable text records their efforts to treat the great apes in the field as they encounter poachers, meet with loss of habitat, and face their newest threat: human diseases that can cross species lines . . . The whole is accompanied by striking, full-color photographs and includes a list of other resources, a postscript, and an index.”—School Library Journal

"A luxe, full color picture book adaptation of Sy Montgomery and Rebecca Green's New York Times bestselling How to Be a Good Creature"--

Terri Roth trudges through the thick, dark Sumatran jungle. She’s looking for a rhinoceros that’s been seen in the area. It’s a rare Sumatran rhino, the world’s smallest rhino and one of the most endangered mammals on the planet.Suddenly she spots a young female rhino through the tangle of ferns and trees. The stocky animal is covered in reddish hair, and her snout sports two stubby horns. The rhino walks right up to Terri. The scientist slowly reaches out her hand and touches the rhino’s big nose. The wild rhino’s curiosity and friendliness remind Terri of Emi, the female Sumatran rhino that lives at the Cincinnati Zoo where Terri works. Terri is working with Emi to help save Sumatran rhinos from extinction--one calf at a time.