The Andean Condor is a large bird that, despite its great weight, is capable of flight. Having one of the largest wingspans, it requires some help to stay in the air, such as living in areas where the wind blows strongly to be able to glide. It usually feeds on the remains of dead animals. To learn more interestingly about the Characteristics of the Andean Condor, we invite you to continue with this reading.
Characteristics of the Andean Condor
The Andean Condor is the only species of non-marine bird that has the largest wingspan in the world. It belongs to the family of American vultures of which it is the only current representative since it does not have subspecies. It is frequently found in the Andes and on the Pacific coast of South America. This specimen is considered the largest flying bird in the Western Hemisphere, since its wingspan is only smaller than that of two varieties of albatrosses (wandering and royal) and two pelicans (pink and curly).
The condor is classified as a bird of prey that feeds primarily on carrion, preferring large carcasses such as deer or cattle. It reaches sexual maturity at five or six years of age and usually nests as high as 5.000 meters (16.000 feet), usually on rocky ledges that are difficult to access. The bird typically lays one or two eggs and is regarded as one of the longest-living birds on the planet, with a lifespan of more than 70 years in some cases.
Description of the Andean Condor
The Vultur gryphus, scientific name of the Andean condor, is also called condor of the Andes or condor of the hills. It is part of the Cathartidae family (New World vultures) and the only member of the Vultur genus. Its maximum wingspan is about 3,3 meters (10 feet 10 inches), which is only exceeded by that of four sea and water birds, of about 3,5 meters (11 feet 6 inches) as the top of the wandering albatross, the southern royal albatross, white pelican and Dalmatian pelican.
The condor is a huge black vulture that has a necklace of white feathers surrounding the base of its neck. The male in particular has huge whitish spots on his wings, while his head and neck, which have almost no feathers, are dark red in color and can turn even redder, thus changing color according to the emotional situation of the male. bird. The male has a beard on its neck and a large dark red crest or caruncle on the crown, and in contrast to most other birds of prey, the male is larger than the female.
This bird is held as a national symbol of nations such as Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru and additionally plays a very significant role in the folklore and mythology of the Andean areas. Captive breeding programs have also been established in some countries for their protection.
The Andean condor is listed as "near threatened" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), primarily due to habitat loss and poisoning due to the ingestion of intoxicated prey or poisoned baits arranged in a manner illegal by hunters and ranchers. Several countries have started captive breeding programs.
Classification and Systematics
Sometimes this condor is called the Argentine condor, Bolivian condor, Chilean condor, Colombian condor, Ecuadorian condor or Peruvian condor, as a tribute to each of the nations from which it originates.
The Andean condor was reviewed in 1758 by the Swedish-born naturalist Carlos Linneo in the tenth edition of his publication Systema naturæ, and maintains the original two-name denomination of Vultur gryphus. The generic word Vultur comes from the Latin vultur or voltur, which means 'vulture', however, gryphus comes from the ancient Greek term γρυπός (grupós, 'hook-shaped beak').
It is a species linked to the California condor and the jungle condor or royal condor. The latter is, from a genetic point of view, its closest relative. Some authors have even placed the two species in a subfamily apart from the other American vultures, although most of them do not consider this subdivision essential.
The precise taxonomic status of the Andean condor and the remaining six varieties of New World vultures remains in doubt. Although the two are similar in appearance and play similar ecological roles, New World and Old World vultures came to evolve from different ancestors in different parts of the world and are not closely related.
The disparity between the two families is currently a matter of debate, and previous authorities have argued that New World vultures are more closely related to storks. More recent authorities maintain their general placement in the order Halconiformes alongside the Old World vultures or arrange them in their own order, the Cathartiformes.
Added to this, the South American Classification Committee has proceeded to eliminate the New World vultures from Ciconiiformes and instead has listed them as incertae sedis, but indicates that there is a possibility of transferring them to Falconiformes or Cathartiformes. The Andean condor is the only admitted living variety of its genus, like the vulture. In contrast to the California condor (Gymnogyps californianus), which is known for its vast fossil remains and other conspecifics, the fossil record of the Andean condor that has been recovered is meager to date.
A posteriori it was recognized that the supposedly Plio-Pleistocene species of South American condors were not different from the present-day species, despite the fact that one known only from a few extremely small bone remains found in a Pliocene site in the Department of Tarija, Bolivia, it could have been a smaller paleosubspecies, V. gryphus patruus.
Phylogeny
Despite the fact that until more or less recently the condors were classified among the vultures, at present it is evident that their lineage is closer to that of the storks and herons, despite the fact that evolutionary divergence has distanced them to a great extent. in appearance and habits. Perhaps Argentavis magnificens was one of the ancestors of the condors, even so what is confirmed is that the condors conquered their territories from the cold regions located in the south of South America, when the Andes mountain range was erected, the biotopes with cold climates spread to present-day Colombia and Venezuela and even further north to California.
Name
In 1553, the initial description of the meeting of the Spanish conquerors with the Andean condor was published in the text "La Crónica del Perú" by Cíes de León. Already in the initial observations made by European travelers of these birds, it was possible to observe that some of them rise to the enormous altitudes of the Andes, where the presence of the condor is the only organic life. It was thus that the German explorer Alexander von Humboldt, after contemplating the condor at an altitude of almost 7.000 meters above sea level, was able to write a magnificent monograph about this species.
The word kúntur comes from the Quechua language. In the Quechua dictionary of Diego González Olgin (1608) we can find the following terms:
- Cuntur is a condor bird
- Cuntur hina purik is a great fast traveler.
Physical appearance
It is a bird that can be easily recognized, except perhaps when it is in high flight where it can be confused with the turkey vulture (Carthates aura) or the American black vulture (Coragyps atratus). Both are equally scavengers and frequently present in the territory of the condor where they fly in circles over the remains of the animals.
However, it can be clearly distinguished by its enormous size and well-defined white neck. Like most carrion birds, it does not have feathers on its head. This is an evolutionary adaptation caused by their feeding pattern, during which their heads are bathed in blood and this area is very difficult for them to clean. Contrary to the usual norm for sexual dimorphism in birds of prey, the female is smaller than the male.
Its wings are long and wide, and its legs, not prehensile, have short and somewhat curved nails, and a high posterior toe insertion. They are suitable for movement and are of little use as weapons or retention organs as in birds of prey and vultures of the Old World. The middle toe of its feet is much longer than the others, and the hind toe is only somewhat developed, while the claws of all toes are relatively straight and blunt. The beak is hook-shaped and has a very sharp point and is designed to tear decomposing meat.
Size and weight
Although its length from beak to tail is, on average, three to three inches shorter than that of the California condor, the Andean condor has a larger wingspan, ranging from 270 to 320 inches. It also regularly weighs more, showing 11 to 15 kilograms (24 to 33 pounds) in males and 8 to 11 kilograms (18 to 24 pounds) in females. The total length of this bird can range from 100 to 130 centimeters.
Within the table of other standard measurements we can mention the following: the wing chord measures from 75,7 to 85,2 centimeters (from 29,8 to 33,5 inches), the tail has a length of 33 to 38 centimeters (from 13 to 15 inches) and the tarsus is 11,5 to 12,5 centimeters (4,5 to 4,9 inches). These measures generally refer to specimens bred in captivity. The average weight is 11,3 kilograms (25 pounds), where males average one kilogram more, 12,5 kilograms (28 pounds), and females one kilogram less, 10,1 kilograms (22 pounds).
According to a recent study of bird body masses, this species has the highest average weight of any extant bird or flying animal, surpassing rivals such as the trumpeter swan (Cygnus buccinator) and Dalmatian pelican (Pelecanus crispus). . However, other sources claim that the average body mass of the species is 10,3 kilograms (23 pounds) for this Andean condor.
The Andean condor is the largest and flightiest living land bird when measured by average weight and wingspan, although the larger species of male bustards (with much more sexual dimorphism in size) may have a greater weight. Among living bird varieties, only the huge albatross and the two largest species of pelican surpass the Andean condor in terms of average and maximum wingspan.
Colours
The plumage exhibited by the adults of these birds is very even black, with the sole exception of a pair of white feathers that surround almost the entire base of the neck and, more than anything else in the male, large white spots or stripes. on the wings that do not show until the bird's first moult is over. The head and neck are red to red-black in color with few feathers.
This condor keeps its head and neck very meticulously clean, and its baldness is an evolutionary adaptation for hygienic purposes, as it allows the skin to be exposed to the sterilizing effects of dehydration and ultraviolet light when flying high. The crown of the head is flat in shape. In the male, the head is crowned with a dark red caruncle or crest, while the skin on the neck is folded, forming a beard.
Both the skin on the head and the neck can become noticeably red, revealing the bird's emotional state, which is useful for communicating with its peers. Juveniles exhibit an overall grayish-brown coloration, dark skin on the head and neck, and a brown neck. The male's iris is brown, while the female's are deep red. The eyelids have no eyelashes.
Food
The Andean condor is eminently a scavenger since it feeds primarily on decomposing animals. Their territories usually encompass huge areas, over which they frequently fly more than 200 kilometers (120 miles) each day in search of carrion. They regularly prey on the largest carcasses available, which may include llamas (Lama glama), alpacas (Vicugna pacos), rheas (Rhea ssp), guanacos (Lama guanicoe), deer, and armadillos.
What does the Andean Condor eat?
Wild specimens could obtain extra carotenoids based on plant matter found in the viscera of carcasses as well as fresh vegetation. However, most inland condors subsist largely on domestic animals, which are now more widespread in South America, such as cattle (Bos primigenius taurus), horses (Equus ferus caballus), donkeys (Equus africanus asinus), mules, sheep (Ovis aries), pigs (Sus scrofa domesticus), goats (Capra aegagrus hircus) and dogs (Canis lupus familiaris).
They also eat the carcasses of recently introduced game varieties such as wild boar (Sus scrofa), rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus), foxes (Vulpes vulpes) and red deer (Cervus elaphus). For condors living near the coast, the diet consists primarily of carcasses of marine mammals, mostly cetaceans. It has been observed that Andean condors catch live animals of small dimensions, such as rodents, birds and rabbits, which, due to their lack of strength, their legs with insufficient grip or an evolved hunting technique, regularly end up killing them with repeated blows. from its beak.
foraging
Littoral zones provide a persistent supply of food, and in areas where it is abundant, certain Andean condors restrict their feeding territory to a few kilometers of land near the beach. There they locate some scavengers by sighting or simply follow other scavengers, including corvids or other vultures. You can go after the vultures of the genus Cathartes, such as the turkey vulture (Cathartes aura), the savanna aura (Cathartes burrovianus) and the jungle aura (Cathartes melambrotus) until you get the carcasses.
Cathartes vultures are scent oriented, recognizing the odor of ethyl mercaptan, a gas produced as dead animals begin to decompose. These modest vultures do not have beaks that allow them to tear through the tough hides of large animals with the same efficiency as the larger condor, and their interactions are often an example of reciprocal dependency between species.
Black vultures (Coragyps atratus), king vultures (Sarcoramphus papa), and even mammalian scavengers may, on occasion, follow Cathartes vultures when searching for carcasses, but the condor is frequently the dominant one among scavengers in its range.
Andean condors feed intermittently in the wild, frequently going a few days without eating and subsequently packing on several pounds at a time, sometimes to the point of being unable to take flight. As its legs and claws are not adapted to hold, it must eat on the ground. Like other scavengers, perform an important role in their ecosystem by ridding themselves of carrion, which would otherwise be a medium for disease development.
Mating and Reproduction
Sexual maturity and its consequent reproductive behavior do not manifest in the Andean condor until the bird reaches five or six years of age. They are essentially monogamous, that is, they choose a partner and stay with it for life, and just in case one of them perishes, the other would look for a new partner.
During courtship displays, male neck skin reddens, varying from dull reddish red to bright yellow, and swells. It approaches the female with its neck stretched out, exhibiting the inflated neck and the patch on the chest, as it whistles, it spreads its wings and remains upright as it clicks with its tongue. As part of the courtship ritual, a whistle and a clucking are included while jumping with the wings partially unfolded, and dancing. The Andean condor usually perches and breeds at elevations of 3.000 to 5.000 meters.
Nests and Egg
Their nest, which is made up of a few sticks arranged around the eggs, is built on ledges that are difficult to access on rocky peaks, protected from the wind and weather, and whose dimensions can vary greatly. However, in the coastal areas of Peru, where there are few cliffs, some nests are simply partially shaded cracks in the slopes. They usually lay one or two bluish-white eggs, weighing about 280 grams (9,9 ounces) and varying in length from 75 to 100 millimeters (3,0 to 3,9 inches), along of the months of February and March every second year.
The egg hatches 54 to 58 days after being incubated by both parents. If the chick or egg is lost or removed, another egg is laid to take its place. Scholars and breeders take advantage of this behavior to double the reproductive rate by removing the first egg for hand rearing, causing the parents to release a second egg, which is regularly allowed to breed.
Chicks and Young
The young specimens remain covered with grayish down until they reach the same size as their parents. Healthy young adults have no natural predators, but huge birds of prey and mammalian predators such as foxes can steal eggs, young, flightless young, or diseased adults.
Predation is relatively infrequent, as careful parents often aggressively repel approaching birds of prey, and the location of most nests on steep, rocky sites makes access difficult for mammals.
Habitat and distribution
The Andean condor can be located in South America in the Andean Cordillera, where the Santa Marta mountains are included, also in the north, its distribution area begins in Venezuela and Colombia, where its presence is extremely rare, and then continues towards the south along the Andes in Ecuador, Peru and Chile, throughout Bolivia and western Argentina to Tierra del Fuego.
At the beginning of the 50th century, the Andean condor managed to reproduce from western Venezuela to Tierra del Fuego, throughout the Andean Cordillera, but its distribution territory has been considerably reduced due to human activity. It is one of the longest-living birds, being able to live in the wild for up to XNUMX years or more, while in captivity it can reach the age of seventy-five.
Where does the Andean Condor live?
It inclines towards more or less open areas, without the presence of forests, which allow it to see carrion from above, such as the moor or rocky, mountainous areas in general. It can eventually be found in the lowlands of eastern Bolivia and southwestern Brazil, can descend to lowland desert regions in Chile and Peru, and can be found above the beech forests of southern Patagonia.
In the south of Patagonia, the meadows are of great interest for Andean condors, since it is possible that some herbivores are present in this habitat. In this region, the distribution of the Andean condor is affected by the location of the meadows, as well as the cliffs to nest and rest.
roosts
The roosts, which are shared by adult, sub-adult and juvenile specimens of both sexes, are regularly located on high cliffs and under protection from rain, wind and possible predators. In most of the cases considered, the favorite roosts and roosts, and therefore the source of disputes, are those that perceive the first rays of the sun early.
Given that the carrion is randomly distributed, these animals repeatedly use several places to rest or spend the night according to the existence of food in the area, and can reach concentrations of up to one hundred and twenty-four specimens.
State of conservation
The Andean condor is considered "near threatened" by the IUCN and was first included in the list of endangered species in the United States in 1970, a condition that is attributed to an animal that has become endangered. disappear in all its distribution territory or in a significant area of it.
As part of the threats to its population, the loss of the habitat required for its feeding and poisoning due to the ingestion of intoxicated prey or the same poisoned baits placed illegally by hunters and ranchers are listed. This threat is present primarily in the northern region of its distribution area, and extremely rarely in Venezuela and Colombia, where it has suffered significant declines in recent years.
As part of the loss and degradation of habitat are forest fires in the moors, mining, the provision of obstacles such as electrical wiring and the extension of the agricultural frontier, which is related to the modification of land use and monocultures that impact activities in the paramos. Illegal hunting is a process that has been occurring on a recurring basis, since there are numerous reasons for this to happen, among which are the mysticism about the species and the exaggeration in relation to attacks on livestock.
According to researchers and conservationists, after a predator, such as a cougar or a fox, kills one of their animals, ranchers put carbofuran on the carcass offal. In this way, if the carnivores return and continue to satisfy their hunger, they consume the poison with which their prey was sprayed and perish.
On the other hand, farmers also inject this toxin into fruits to have them as poison baits in the crops and thus kill the birds that come close to pecking. Every time predators die poisoned, scavenger species like the condor eat their remains and suffer the same consequences.
Because it is adapted to very low mortality and has consistently low reproductive rates, it is highly vulnerable to persecution by humans. This high rate of persecution stems from the fact that it is seen as a threat by farmers as it is held responsible for alleged attacks on livestock. Conservationists have developed education programs to clear up this misconception.
Reintroduction programs have been developed in which Andean condors were used in captivity in North American zoos from which birds were born to be released into the wild and thus reinforce populations in Argentina, Venezuela and Colombia. The first Andean condors to be bred in captivity were released in 1989.
When these condors were breeders, human contact was minimal. The chicks were fed by plastic puppets that resembled adult Andean condors to prevent the chicks from developing attachments to humans. This could put them in danger after being released, since they would not be distrustful of humans.
The Andean condors were placed in aviaries for three months before their release so that they could acclimatize to the environment to which they would later be released. The released condors were tracked by satellite to track their movements and recognize if the birds were still alive.
What is done to protect it?
In response to the capture of all wild California condors, in 1988 the United States Fish and Wildlife Service began a reintroduction trial involving the release of captive Andean condors into the wild in California. Only female specimens were released to prevent it from becoming an invasive species.
The trial was very successful, and all the Andean condors were recaptured and re-released in South America before the reintroduction of the California condors took place. By June 2014, local authorities in the area of Ancasmarca, Peru rescued two Andean condors that were trapped to be exhibited in a local market as a means of tourist attraction.
In 1991, in Pampa de Achala, Córdoba, Argentina, the Andean Condor Conservation Project (PCCA) began. This project was organized by the Buenos Aires ZOO, the Temaikén Foundation and the Fundación Bioandina Argentina and also has the support of renowned national and international organizations. Its primary purpose is to provide assistance for the preservation of these wonderful birds and their magnificent ecosystem, throughout the entire range, to guarantee the survival of who is esteemed as the living Spirit of the Andes.
Ecology and Behavior
The condor ascends in flight with its wings held horizontally and its primary feathers with their tips spread upwards. The absence of a large sternum to attach its corresponding huge flight muscles marks it physiologically as an elevator. Charles Darwin was able to detail it on a certain occasion after contemplating them for half an hour without observing, not once, a flapping of their wings.
It tends to perch on high places from which it can take flight without great effort of flapping. Andean condors are often seen in flight near rocky cliffs, taking advantage of thermal heat to help them gain altitude.
Like other New World vultures, these condors have the unusual habit of urohidrosis: they defecate or urinate on the scaly areas of their legs as a way to cool off. An evaporative cooling mechanism has been suggested as the cause of this behavior, but it seems to make sense in the cold Andean environment of the bird. Because of this habit, their feet are often stained with a white uric acid deposit.
A well-developed social structure is known within large groups of condors, thanks to which the "pecking order" is determined through body language, competitive play behavior and vocalizations. Typically, mature males are usually at the top of the pecking order, with post-dispersal immature males usually near the bottom of the pecking order.
How long does the Andean Condor live?
Being a slowly maturing bird, with no known natural predators during its adulthood, an Andean condor can enjoy a long existence. It is unknown whether longevity and mortality rates have been extensively investigated in the wild. Estimates of the life expectancy of wild specimens have exceeded 50 years.
By 1983, the Guinness Book of World Records recorded that the longest-lived bird of any species with a verified lifespan was an Andean condor that perished after living 72 years in captivity, having been caught in the wild as a juvenile. indefinite age.
There are reports of several species of parrots that may have lived for more than a hundred years, but such estimates, up to 1983, were never verified. Another of the first condor specimens in captivity managed to live up to 71 years. However, this life expectancy has been exceeded by a male, who had the nickname "Thaao", and which was kept at the Beardsley Zoo in Connecticut. Thaao was born in captivity in 1930 and died on January 26, 2010, making him 79 years old. This would be the oldest proven age ever known for a bird.
The Condor in Culture
El Cóndor Pasa (The Flight of the Condor), is a zarzuela from Peru, which was originally written by Julio de La Paz and the music was created in 1913 by the author Daniel Alomia Robles (1871-1942). It is a musical work based on folkloric motifs and has great fame throughout the planet. This piece tells the story of a tragic confrontation between the indigenous tribes and the Spanish conquerors of America. The famous melody is heard at the end of the work, and the Andean condor represents in it the ideal of freedom. In 2004, this motif was recognized as the national heritage of the Peruvian people.
Condors sometimes serve as heroes of literary works, for example, in Jules Verne's novel "Captain Grant's Children" throughout his journey through Patagonia, the condor attacked the boy Robert and lifted him up to the sky in his claws . Certainly, that could not have happened, since the structure of the legs of these birds does not allow them to support the prey in the air.
The Andean condor is held as a national symbol in the countries of Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela. It is also the national bird of Bolivia, Chile, Colombia and Ecuador, playing an important role in the folklore and mythology of the Andean regions of South America. It has been represented in Andean art from the year 2500 BC and forms part of the Andean beliefs of the indigenous people.
Likewise, this bird is considered a symbol of power and health by numerous Andean cultures, and the bones and organs of Andean condors were thought to have medicinal powers, which led, on occasions, to the hunting and killing of condors. these creatures to get their bones and organs. In certain versions of Peruvian bullfighting, the condor is tied to the back of a bull, from which it pecks at the animal while the bullfighters face it. The condor usually survives and is later released.
In Peru, they are sometimes shot, but more frequently they are revered and used for ritual purposes. The Yawar Festival is a commemoration whose culminating point is when an Andean condor is tied to the back of a bull, allowing the condor to kill the bull with the help of its claws before being released.
This ceremony is a symbolic manifestation of the power of the Andean peoples (represented by the condor) over the Spaniards (represented by the bull). There is also a ceremony known as the start of the condor in which a living Andean condor is hung from a frame, to which the riders who go by on horseback beat him until he dies.
National Personification
In Chile, in addition to being a national emblem, it is a national personification, used to symbolize the nation itself or the traditional Chilean, numerous zoomorphic character figures have been created to represent the Chilean as "Copuchita" from the film 15 thousand drawings or the figure of «Chago» the mascot of the ODESUR Santiago 2014 Sports Games.
Condorito is a comic publication of Chilean origin in which a condor is shown in human form that resides in an imaginary town called Pelotillehue, a small town in the Chilean province. It is presumed that it is a symbolization of the Chilean people. The author Gabriela Mistral, in a concise essay written for the newspaper El Mercurio, called "Less condor and more huemul", criticized the link between the population and the condor and suggested the huemul, the other emblematic animal of Chile.
The Condor and Art
There are Mochica ceramic or gold pieces in which the condor is represented and which were made by pre-Columbian populations established along the northern coast of Peru, in coastal oases and in the foothills of the Andean mountain range, from the years 100 to 700. The French animal sculptor François Pompon (1855-1933) made several statuettes with the figure of the condor. A statue of a condor made by the artist is located at his grave in the Saulieu cemetery in France.
The Andean condor is an image of considerable presence on the stamps or stamps of many countries. He has been represented in one for Ecuador in 1958, Argentina in 1960, Peru in 1973, Bolivia in 1985, Colombia in 1992, Chile in 2001 and Venezuela in 2004. His image has also been part of coins and bills from Colombia and Chile. . The condor is shown in various shields of the Andean nations to symbolize the Andean mountains.
The mysticism of his death
The Incas considered the condor to be eternal. According to what the myth tells, when an animal feels that it has begun to age and that its strength is exhausted, it reaches the highest and most prominent peak of the mountains to gather its wings and legs and let itself plummet against the bottom of the ravines, in which his reign ends. This death is symbolic, since with such a fact the condor returns to the nest, to the peaks, from where it will be reborn towards a new cycle, a new existence.
The condor represents strength, talent and aggrandizement or exaltation. It is a creature respected by all those who lived in the Andes since times before the discovery of America, since it was not only the bearer of good and bad omens, but it was also responsible for the sun rising every morning, since with its energy had the power to take the star and lift it over the mountains to start the life cycle.
Curiosities
The Andean condor (Vultur gryphus) is a diurnal bird of prey that is part of the order Accipitriformes. It belongs to the Cathartidae family, this carrion bird is the only species of the Vultur genus and lives in South America, throughout the Andean mountain range and the Pacific coast. It has a wingspan of 3,20 meters, being considered the largest flying land bird in the Western Hemisphere, where it is barely surpassed by the Howler Albatross, a large seabird with a wingspan of almost 3,70 meters.
It is a huge black vulture with a collar of white feathers that surrounds the base of its neck and, particularly the males, show large white spots on the sides. The head and neck have almost no feathers and are dull red, both of which may redden in response to the emotional state of the bird. Males exhibit fleshy underneck and massive crest on top of head.
In contrast to most raptors, the male is much larger than the female. It lives at elevations of 3.000 to 5.000 meters, often on rocks that are difficult to access. Their diet is essentially a scavenger, preferring large animals, such as deer or cattle.
Roberto Rojas, was a soccer player from Chile, who showed a peculiar way of jumping and was nicknamed "Andean Condor". He was known as one of the best goalkeepers in South American football in the 8s and became famous for the scandal by simulating an injury in a World Cup qualifying match against Brazil, for which he was disqualified for life from the International Association of Football Federations. Football (FIFA).
According to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) codification: Condor, “condor” refers to an An-124 “Ruslan” extra-heavy long-haul transport aircraft built by the Antonov Design Bureau, to which It is considered the largest production cargo plane in the world (from 1982 to 1988, it was also the largest aircraft on the planet). The Andean condor is symbolized in the logo of Avianca and Aerolineas Argentinas, which make up two of the largest airlines in South America.
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