Regarded as one of the rarest birds in the world, the California Condor is the largest land bird in North America with a wingspan of up to 9 ½ feet and a weight of up to 23 pounds. At one point, only 22 of these magnificent creatures remained in the world. Now, through Herculean efforts in reintroduction, there are more than 400 and more than 70 of these are flying over southern Utah and northern Arizona.The Mexican Spotted Owl is also an endangered bird with little more than 2,000 remaining in the United States. This 16-19 inch tall, under two-pound creature, with a wingspan of 42-45 inches is also found in Grand Canyon and is also the subject of study and recovery efforts.

In this episode of On the Road and Mac and Molly, we hear fromJanice Stroud-Settles, a wildlife biologist at Grand Canyon National Park, about these fascinating birds and the efforts that have been spent and are being expended in bringing them back from the brink of extinction.

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More details on this episode MP3 Podcast - Back from the Brink: Saving the California Condor and the Mexican Spotted Owl on Pet Life Radio.