Christian Cooper, the “Extraordinary Birder”

Christian Cooper made national news in May 2020 when, while birdwatching in New York’s Central Park, a white woman called 911 to report that an “African American man was threatening her life” after he’d asked her to put her dog on a leash. His recording of their interaction went viral, just as the country was rocked by the George Floyd murder. Since then, he has hosted a National Geographic Wild series, “Extraordinary Birder with Christian Cooper,” and written a memoir about growing up a closeted gay teenager on Long Island, titled “Better Living Through Birding: Notes from a Black Man in the Natural World.” Nancy Giles reports.