The National Aviary’s Andean condor webcam is activated and the watch is on as an egg is expected to hatch within the next month.
Andean condors are the world’s largest flying bird with a 10-foot wingspan. They are threatened throughout much of their range and critically endangered in Ecuador. The National Aviary’s Andean Condor breeding program is part of a global effort to save the birds.
Both of the Aviary condor parents, Lianni and Lurch, are taking turns incubating the mango-sized egg which is expected to hatch between June 6-9.
The condor nest is tucked inside a cave in the Aviary’s Condor Court.
A high-resolution infrared nest cam already captured Lianni laying the egg.
“It’s so rare to get a look like this at a natural behavior like egg laying,” says National Aviary Executive Director Cheryl Tracy. “I found it so interesting to watch Lianni’s reaction to it all, too. It was a remarkably touching moment to witness, and I hope all our viewers can connect to Lianni through this experience and grow their concern for wild Andean Condor populations as well.”
In the past, Lianni has produced four chicks, three of which were released into the wild in Columbia and Venezuela to help boost the wild populations there. The fourth chick found its home in a conservation center in Florida.
Andean condors typically lay only one egg about every 18 to 24 months. If hatching is successful, the chick will be the Aviary’s first condor hatchling in about a decade, according to Robin Weber, Aviary spokeswoman.
The camera and installation services were provided by M&P Security Solutions, Inc., a veteran-owned business serving the Greater Pittsburgh Area.
