Thursday, April 05, 2007

Conservation success builds hope for ocean fish

A big ugly bird laid an egg in February, and now biologists are cheering. The California condor is providing hope for endangered species everywhere.

After dropping as low as 21 birds, the California condor seemed doomed. In the mid-80s, biologists captured all the wild birds and began an intensive captive breeding project. Now the population numbers around 270, with about 125 re-released back into the wild.

The latest good news is a wild-born egg laid in an abandoned bald eagle nest in Mexico, by a bird raised at the Los Angeles zoon.

If there is hope for the California condor, truly a bird in dire straits, then there is hope for the endangered fishes of the sea.

Now on to Atlantic halibut, Grand Banks cod, smalltooth sawfish, nassau grouper, canary rockfish, humphead wrasse...

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