Condor Rescue

From: KQED
Series: QUEST
Length: 04:57

A condor refuge recovers after a wildfire, and volunteers prepare for a dramatic release. Read the full description.

Piece Audio

Playing: Condor Rescue
From: KQED

Radio33condorreturn160_small The summer?s biggest wildfire scorched much of the Big Sur area -- and it also threatened one of the biggest and rarest birds in the world. The California Condor nests in the area, and a condor sanctuary in Big Sur went up in flames. Most of the birds were dramatically rescued before the sanctuary's facilities burned. And now they are about to be released back into the wild.

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Piece Description

The summer?s biggest wildfire scorched much of the Big Sur area -- and it also threatened one of the biggest and rarest birds in the world. The California Condor nests in the area, and a condor sanctuary in Big Sur went up in flames. Most of the birds were dramatically rescued before the sanctuary's facilities burned. And now they are about to be released back into the wild.

Broadcast History

Aired on Weekend ATC on 11/1

Transcript

AMBI 1 room tone outdoors, don't establish
Up at the Ventana wilderness condor sanctuary, you're so high above Big Sur and Highway 1 ... that the wispy cloud layer is below you. Condors like to perch as high as possible, and that's where the sanctuary sits... at least, what's left of it.
AMBI 2 crunching through debris establish, then under
The sanctuary's executive director, Kelly Sorenson, is wading through the burned-out wreckage ?.
AMBI 2 crunnnnnch
ACT 1
All back here was an observation blind, and a catch pen, connected to this flight pen back here. This was big enough that we could hold about 20 condors at once.?
It's hard to imagine that this pile of charred rubbish used to be a solid wood-and-aluminum enclosure, topped by netting.
AMBI 2 crunnnnnch
ACT 2
And now it's just twisted metal and ash. Whole lot of debris that needs to be cleaned up, because we're going to...
Read the full transcript

Timing and Cues

SUGGESTED HOST INTRO:
The summer?s biggest wildfire scorched much of the Big Sur area -- and it also threatened one of the biggest and rarest birds in the world. The California Condor nests in the area, and a condor sanctuary in Big Sur went up in flames. Most of the birds were dramatically rescued before the sanctuary's facilities burned. And now they are about to be released back into the wild.