Extinction Talk

Scott Weidensaul

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Thursday, February 21, 2013

York College will present “The Ghost with Trembling Wings: Science and the Search for Lost Species,” at 7p.m., March 13, in DeMeester Recital Hall, located in Evelyn and Earle Wolf Hall. The event is free and open to the public and will be followed by a book signing.

Speaker Scott Weidensaul will provide a historical narrative as to why species become extinct, such as civil wars, habitat destruction and poor management. He will recount the bravery, hunches and wonderfully educated guesswork, along with the incredible heroism that the scientific and naturalist communities have shown in the search for the “lost” species. He will also touch on the scientific efforts to restore species and the ethics of using genetic engineering and cloning to save endangered species and recreate lost species.

Weidensaul is a naturalist, ornithologist, writer and one of fewer than 200 people who are federally licensed to band hummingbirds in the United States. He has written more than two dozen books on natural history, including his widely acclaimed “Living on the Wind Across the Hemisphere with Migratory Birds,” which was one of three finalists for the 2000 Pulitzer Prize. Other recent titles include “The Ghost with Trembling Wings: Science, Wishful Thinking and the Search for Lost Species,” about the search for animals that may or may not be extinct, and “Of a Feather: A Brief History of American Birding,” which traces 400 years of ornithological history.

Weidensaul’s work has been published in the Smithsonian, The New York Times, Nature Conservancy, National Wildlife and Audubon magazine.