The condor of the Andes awakened with the light of a happy sunrise ♪ ♫
them wings slowly took off and went down to the blue river to drink ♪ ♫...
Today in Argentina, many of those condors, sadly will not go down to the river to drink, nor will they have descendants.
Fuente
The death of 34 condors in Mendoza, Argentina, was a story that undoubtedly shocked me, that filled me with sadness, anger and impotence, because I am an animalist from heart, because I defend with all my soul the animals, because we all have right to life, we were all born to be free and the earth belongs to everyone.
It is presumed that the death of these 34 condors is due to a macabre practice with agrotoxics, on the part of the cattlemen of this sector. And I ask myself: Will there be punishment for those guilty of this crime?
The condor is one of the emblematic birds of South America and is in danger of extinction, because man, by his arrogance and ignorance, has been in charge of gradually reducing its population. Despite being a national symbol of countries such as Bolivia, Chile, Colombia and Ecuador, those who have it represented in their respective flags and shields, do not escape human attack. In Venezuela and Colombia, it has practically disappeared, while in Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador there are no figures, so we must conduct awareness campaigns to prevent their disappearance and take urgent protection measures.
It is one of the birds that flies to greater heights, it measures up to 1.20 of height, it has a wingspan that reaches about 3.5 meters and weighs about 11.5 kg (males are heavier than females). The difference between the male and the female is that the male has a crest and the female has red eyes. It is a day bird, the nights are sheltered in the caves of the mountains and it is there where the females lay their eggs and between them they take turns giving them warmth. Each female gets to put a single egg that is about 10 centimeters long and incubation lasts approximately 55 to 60 days.
Fuente
It is located along the Andean Cordillera (Spanish: Cordillera de los Andes), from Venezuela to Chile and Argentina. It has a naked head and neck, bluish black plumage, white collar and back, small tail and black feet, scavenger par excellence, feeds on dead animals, contributing to the role of cleaning the fields of infection foci, maintaining the balance of ecosystems of which it is a part, maintaining the health of many animals, because by quickly consuming the corpses it eliminates sources of contact with diseases or sources of contamination. It is not a hunter, it also does not have the claws like those of the eagle, so strong as to capture and kill.
For the Andean communities it is a sacred bird and that is why they honor it, have lived with them for thousands and thousands of years. The condor lives approximately 70 years, but the current man does not let them live for long.
In Venezuela, the country where I am from, they are found in the Andes Mountains which comprises Trujillo, Mérida, Táchira and the Sierra of Perijá.
In 2012, my daughter and I took a tour through the paramo of Mérida and at one of the stops, specifically at the Mucunturia Visitor Center, we had the opportunity to see the only condor that remained in Venezuela in captivity, they had him locked up to preserve his life and try to get him to breed with a female that had been brought from another Andean country. That condor called "Combatiente", sad and lonely, removed the feelings of my daughter, who could not stand and sat down to cry, because she is a bird lover and seeing him in that condition was very emotional for her.
I leave a picture taken by my daughter @bloodymari to our beautiful Combatiente, who currently has a companion, another condor brought from other lands of the same Andes.
In Venezuela, Colombia and Argentina condor hunting has been reported, many of them have been captured alive with remnants of pellets, which end up dying slowly due to the harmful effect of lead.
During the year 2017 in Argentina, the number of condors poisoned by man was impressive, due to the use of toxic sebum (poison), something terrible that is causing the decline of the species and it is important that people become aware and get involved. public organisms for their conservation. Today, again these events are repeated, just beginning the year 2018, there are 34 more condors, dead of course poisoning.
Here is a very interesting video about the conservation of the Andean condor (spanish):
There are few birds that can equal the imposing condor, displaying its beauty, silent and perfect flight throughout the Andean mountain range.
I want to shout loudly, as tall as the flight of the condors to beg for their salvation. Please save the condors!
And to say goodbye I want to give you this beautiful melody named El Condor Pasa, interpreted by the Ecuadorian Leo Rojas, in homage to our condors.