Historically, the California condor soared across the western skies of North America. But by the 1980s, the bird was on the edge of extinction — just 22 remained.

Thanks to decades of conservation work, the California condor population has rebounded to a couple hundred birds in Central California and Arizona. And this May, a large partnership led by the Yurok Tribe re-introduced the birds to Northern California.

Today, host Aaron Scott talks to Yurok biologist Tiana Williams-Claussen about the years-long quest to return the birds to their ancestral skies, and the importance of condor — who the Yurok call Prey-go-neesh — to the Yurok people and the natural world.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy