The unexpected comeback of the endangered Everglades snail kite and what it means for other species facing extinction today  
 
“The Kite and the Snail examines the decline of the Everglades and the progress of its management and restoration through the lens of a single dynamic endangered species. Flower introduces a cast of scientists, activists, and decision-makers, exploring what humans have wrought on this awe-inspiring landscape. The book is both entertaining and educational, even for those of us who have been immersed in the science and policy of the Everglades for a very long time. I was thoroughly engrossed.”—Jerry Lorenz, former director of research, Audubon Florida Everglades Science Center  
 
“Flower brings us along on her quest to discover new secrets about one of Florida’s most exquisite birds—the snail kite. I learned so much about my beloved native state! This book deserves to perch alongside other great books about Florida’s unique natural history.”—R. Scot Duncan, author of Southern Rivers: Restoring America’s Freshwater Biodiversity
 
When a bird of prey known as the Everglade snail kite became hard to find in the wetlands of South Florida where it was once abundant, scientist Hilary Flower sought answers, tracking the kite deep within its ancestral home to tell a surprising story of survival and hope. The Kite and the Snail reveals how one species made a comeback from the brink of extinction through resilience and change—and what this means for the future of conservation.
 
From remote sawgrass marshes to abandoned mining pits, from flooded cattle pastures to water-treatment impoundments, Flower meets field biologists, tribal elders, environmental advocates, and other key players who help her piece together the kite’s past and present. The Everglade snail kite has traditionally fed on only the native Florida apple snail, which declined in population as wetland habitats decreased during the mid- to late twentieth century. But the kite shocked scientists by adapting to a new food source—an invasive, exotic snail that is now common across the Everglades and beyond—and quadrupling the kites’ population.
 
A rare success story in an age of increasing threats of extinction, this book traces the evolutionary and ecological factors that have allowed the kite to thrive against the odds. The Kite and the Snail asks: How can endangered species be saved when the world around them keeps shifting? Part natural history, part investigative journey, and part personal meditation, this story shows that flexibility, surprise, and human-altered habitats may play unexpected roles in saving species at risk, pointing to new approaches to conservation in the age of the Anthropocene.  
 
Hilary Flower is professor of environmental studies at Eckerd College, where she teaches about wetlands and global environmental change and researches how climate change and sea level rise affect the Everglades.

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