Human activity can disrupt ecosystems in complex ways, sometimes forcing conservationists to take extreme measures to save a species from disappearing forever. In the late twentieth century, the skies over western North America were on the verge of losing one of their most magnificent inhabitants. The California condor , a massive bird with a wide wingspan, was experiencing a devastating population crash. For decades, a combination of expanding towns, illegal poaching, and a hidden chemical threat chipped away at their numbers until the species was teetering on the absolute edge of extinction.
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