Three Andean condors are living in Azuay, say two Cuenca ecologists. The ecologists, Fausto Cardoso and Gustavo Landívar, located a nest last year and have been following the progress of the family of the threatened birds.

They are the only known condors in that province. The exact location of the nest is being kept a secret, to protect the birds.

Cardoso says the bird’s nest is surrounded by dangerous cliffs. Cacti, acacia trees and bromelias dot the landscape, which is also home to mountain mice, snakes, spiders, foxes and guatusas. The pair of ecologists have to walk two hours from the town of Cuenca to get to the spot.

They named the female Soraya. She was the first bird they spotted, perched on a 250m wall of rock. After a few days, they noticed a small gray thing moving awkwardly around the ground, and they confirmed it was a condor chick. They named it Arturo, and peg its birthday sometime in December 2011 or January 2012.

They watched Arturo while he grew, shed his grey fluff and grew his first feathers. From January until August, the chick moved slowly and needed his mother. By October he was flying. “He’d spread his wings, soar and fight against the wind,” the pair recalls fondly.

By November, Arturo could fly as high as the highest mountains. Later in the month, the father showed up, and the ecologists named him Manuel. The three condors started to take flights together.

The condor is a scavenger and an indispensable part of the highlands ecosystem. The condor is on Ecuadors flag, but its population has been dwindling in the country in recent years. There are thought to be about 50 condors left in the Ecuadorian wild. 

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