Photo of the Day 19 January 2008


Attwater's Prairie Chick Hatchling, Texas, 2002
Photograph by Joel Sartore
Newly hatched at Fossil Rim Wildlife Center in Glen Rose, Texas, this Attwater's prairie-chicken is part of a captive breeding program aimed at increasing the birds' numbers in the wild. These charismatic birds once numbered about a million along the Texas coastline, but overhunting and habitat loss have cut their wild population to just 50 or so. Captive breeding programs like this one are trying to reverse the trend.