Young Andean Condor released last year with satellite transmitter in Ecuador is found shot and killed

BOISE, Idaho – Authorities in Ecuador are investigating the death of a young Andean Condor that had been rescued and released to the wild last summer wearing a satellite transmitter to track his movements and behaviors.

Signals from the transmitter allowed scientists to find and recover the bird, which had been named Felipe by his rescuers, on April 12. An X-ray examination and necropsy located one bullet on the right leg and several bullet holes in the body.

“Felipe was the first Andean Condor in Ecuador to have a satellite transmitter, and I had high hopes that he would provide information about what condors need to survive in the northern Andes,” said Hernan Vargas, director of The Peregrine Fund’s Neotropical Science program. “Felipe was very popular in Ecuador as an ambassador for condor conservation. I am deeply disappointed.”

This was the fourth Andean condor to be shot and killed in Ecuador in the last 18 months. The 2-year-old condor was one of only about 50 Andean Condors surviving in the wild in Ecuador, where they are critically endangered. Overall, the species is listed as “Near Threatened” on the IUCN Red List.

“This is a significant loss in a small population,” Vargas said.

While the condor was alive, Vargas and other researchers gained valuable information that had never been collected in Ecuador, including flight patterns and previously unknown roosting sites, the high cliffs protected from weather and predators where condors sleep and perch.

Ecuador’s Ministry of Environment is working with national police to locate those responsible for the condor’s death.

 

Did you know? 

  • The Andean Condor is Ecuador’s national bird.
  • It feeds primarily on carrion. In Ecuador, the main food is cattle. Condors have been occasionally observed attacking sick and newborn calves.
  • The Andean Condor is the world’s largest land flying bird with a wing span of more than 10-1/2 feet.
  • Monogamous pairs lay a single egg every other year. The young depend on their parents for more than a year.
  • Andean Condors reach sexual maturity at 8 years and are known to live up to 80 years in captivity.

For more information, contact:

Erin Katzner
Director of Global Engagement
Main Phone:     208-362-3716
Direct Phone:     208-362-8277