The bird that defied extinction

Witness History

BBC

History, Personal Journals, Society & Culture

4.4 • 1.6K Ratings

🗓️ 28 November 2023

⏱️ 10 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In 1969, a Peruvian farmer called Gustavo Del Solar received an unusual assignment - finding a bird called the white-winged guan that had been regarded as extinct for a century.

After years of searching, he found the bird deep in Peru’s wilderness in 1977. He then made it his life’s mission to save the species, setting up a zoo in his family home.

Thanks to Gustavo's discovery, the Peruvian government protected the white-winged guan and its population continued to grow. His son, Rafael Del Solar, tells Ben Henderson about his dad's love for the 'chicken-sized' birds.

(Photo: Gustavo Del Solar with a white-winged guan. Credit: Rafael Del Solar/El Comercio)

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, it's Doleepa, and I'm at your service.
0:04.7	Join me as I serve up personal conversations
0:07.1	with my sensational guests.
0:08.9	Do a leap, interviews, Tim Cook.
0:11.2	Technology doesn't want to be good or bad.
0:15.0	It's in the hands of the Creator.
0:16.7	It's not every day that I have the CEO of the world's biggest company in my living room.
0:20.6	If you're looking at your phone more than you're looking in someone's eyes you're doing the wrong thing.
0:26.0	Julie, at your service.
0:28.0	Listen to all episodes on BBC Sales. Hello and welcome to the Witness History Podcast from the BBC World Service with me
0:40.2	Ben Henderson. We're going back to Peru in 1969 when a farmer called Gustavo
0:46.5	Del Salar received an unusual assignment. Finding a bird called the White-Winged guan that had been extinct for a century.
0:55.6	The bird is charcoal collards with white outer wings feathers,
1:01.2	a red frothrothed, the head is featherless and is the size of a chicken. If you see
1:08.8	it is a really elegant bird wearing something like a suit or a tuxedo. It's a really elegant. It's only missing the tie.
1:17.0	It really has a distinctive call. When they are upset and it starts doing a noise like, a, a, a, a, a, because they want to threaten,
1:30.0	but when they are calm, they will do a noise like...
1:34.0	And if they got excited, they won't like...
1:40.0	And they turn to...
1:42.0	And they turn to... I did my best
1:51.1	now I did my best now that may sound like an authentic recording of the bird but it is in fact Raphael
1:56.1	de Salar Gustavo de Salar's son and as you can tell he's very much at one with
	...

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