The Alpine chough (Pyrrhocorax graculus) is, as far as birds are concerned, pretty much the ultimate mountaineer. It has bred at higher altitude than any other bird, and been seen hanging out near the summit of Mount Everest. But it is also a bird with a remarkable, almost inexplicable, deep history; because the Alpine chough has a mysterious, but possibly profound, connection to the Neanderthals ...

Subscribe to the show to make sure you don't miss any future Wild Episodes, and e-mail your comments, corrections, suggestions or feedback to help make those future episodes better!

Intro and outro music by Audionautix. Other music in this episode by Ondrosik and Chris Zabriskie. All licensed under Creative Commons Attribution.

www.thewildepisode.com