Born into a family of scavengers and opportunistic thieves, this bird soars
over some of the most unforgiving landscapes on earth. Meet the king of thieves: the condor.
Hi I’m Danielle Dufault and you’re watching Animalogic.
Condors are some of the largest flying birds in the world. They’re part of
the New World Vulture family, and like their cousins, they soar for hundreds of
kilometres every day in search of carrion. They evolved at a time when megafauna was
common in the Americas and there was an abundant amount of carrion.
They fed on carrion of mastodons, mammoths, and giant sloths. But as the great American
giants died out due to climate change and human predation most condors ran out of food.
Today there are only two condor species: the California condor and the Andean condor.
The North American species used to be found from coast to coast. Unfortunately today
they’re only found in Arizona and California, where they feed on large marine mammals that
wash upon the shore of the pacific coast. Found in South America, the Andean Condor
feeds on dead llamas, guanacos, as well as dead livestock and cetaceans.
Both species are huge, but the South American species is slightly beefier.
California condors have a wingspan of up to 3 meters and weigh up to 10 Kg,
while Andean Condors have a wingspan of 3.3 m and can weigh up to 15 Kg.
This puts them among the largest flying birds in the world. Only great albatrosses and some
pelican species have a larger wingspan, and only bustards are heavier than the largest condors.
Their enormous wings helped them glide without making much of an effort. They
have been observed soaring for over an hour without flapping their wings.
But compared to some of their extinct relatives condors are just little runts.
The most amazing of them was the Giant Terator, which might have had twice the wingspan and
four times the weight of an Andean condor. Being this huge means they have no predators
when fully grown, but it also means they need a lot of food to survive.
When looking for carrion, they look for smaller scavengers such as turkey vultures
and corvids to help them find food. Turkey vultures are particularly useful because
they have one of the most developed chemoreception systems among birds,
so they can sniff out prey in forested areas. The condor’s large beak is able to tear through
thick hides more efficiently than a turkey vulture’s. Condors can go several days without
eating, but when they find food they can eat several kilograms in one sitting. Once the condor
has had its fill the turkey vulture and other scavengers can access food that they otherwise
couldn’t, so it's mutually beneficial. The king looks after his people.
Part of the condor’s regal fashion sense is the frill of feathers at the base of their
neck. California condors have a black frill and in Andean condors it is white. The south american
condor also has a crown on their bald head. Their bald head is an adaptation for
life as a scavenger. Having no hair or feathers makes it much easier to clean.
It also exposes pathogens to dehydration and ultraviolet light at high altitudes.
It’s basically the same reasons why restaurant kitchens aren’t carpeted.
The least majestic thing they do is they way they cool themselves off.
Like other members of their family, they empty their cloacas on their feet.
This is thought to protect them from the sun and prevent skin dryness.
But these are not very important issues in the cold Andes mountain range,
so south american condors often have uric acid build ups in their legs.
It’s called fashion. Look it up. These beautiful scavengers are
actually really great parents and partners. When they’re about six years old they become
sexually mature and start looking for a partner. They mate for life and a
couple can stay together for over 50 years. They usually lay one or two eggs. Chicks
hatch after 2 months of incubation. At 6 months of age they can fly on their own,
but stay with their parents until they’re about 2 years of age. By then,
the parents are ready to lay new eggs, so the older siblings get kicked out.
Despite their careful parenting, California condors are critically endangered. In the 80s,
the condor population of North America was in the double digits.
A plan called the California Condor Recovery Plan was started and it consisted of catching
all the wild condors and creating a breeding process in captivity.
Of course there were ethical, economic, and ecological concerns but the plan went
ahead and by 1987 all the 22 living california condors were in captivity.
They were bred and the chicks were reared using puppets,
to prevent them from imprinting on humans. A few years laters the first condors
were reintroduced to the wild. Since then the populations have been
growing steadily, but they still face challenges such as electric power lines, egg collection,
lead poisoning from eating animals killed with lead bullets, and accidentally eating plastic.
As of today there are more than 450 California condors and more are being
born in the wild than there are dying. The Andean condor is doing better. They’re
protected across their range as they are the national bird of seven South American countries.
There are about 10,000 Andean condors, and about two thirds of them are sexually mature.
Populations are reinforced by condors raised in captivity, usually in North American zoos,
but in northern parts of their range they’re still decreasing. They’re
currently considered a Near Threatened species. Great job and thank you to all you who helped
California condors back from the brink of death! And here’s to more future successes!
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