| Site-Map | What's New |
Andean Condors and Peru's Colca Canyon |
Site-Map | What's New |
| The Andean Condor is a majestic bird that soars high over the Andes Mountains of South America. They can live for over fifty years and have the largest wingspan of any bird in our world. Andean Condors are vultures and live by eating large carrion such as cattle, deer, llamas, vicunas, or alpacas. These birds are revered throughout all of South America and have been for centuries. In Peru, an excellent place to view the Andean Condor is at a spot overlooking the Colca Canyon - the deepest canyon in the world. One viewing place is known as Cruz del Condor. The Andean Condors nest on sheer cliff walls below this viewing point and often rise on thermal updrafts and soar past this site amazingly closely. These photos of Andean Condors were taken at Cruz del Condor in both late February and early March of 2009. |
Larger version of these Condor photos can be viewed by using a mouse rollover
or using the Slideshow below.
Add this page to your favorites.
If you're looking for landscapes from a particular place, you might check here:
TheWorldinLight has other categories of wildlife photos that can be viewed by choosing from the links in the following pull-down menu: |
Point to any image for an enlargement |
Use the arrow keys to center enlargements |
 Cruz del Condor #0705 Cruz del Condor is a viewing site for the Andean Condor. It's perfectly situated above Condor nests located on the sheer cliff below the viewing site. The site also offers spectacular views up and down as well as deep into the canyon. |
 Condor #1508 Sometimes the condors fly so closely by that you can hear the wind in their wings. |
 Condor #0731 Frequently, around 8AM, the Condors ride thermal updrafts from their nesting sites to the rim of the canyon. They often pass within a mere few meters of the people at the viewing sites. |
 Condor #1527 Andean Condors nest on sheer cliffs below Cruz del Condor in the Colca Canyon of Peru. |
 Condor #1528 Condors soar over the canyon searching for carion. |
 Condor #1529 Andean Condors can live to 50 to 70 years old. |
 Condor #1573 Andean Condors reach sexual maturity at five to six years of age. They mate for life. |
 Condor #0727 Cruz del Condor is located with Peru's Reserval Nacional Salinas y Aguada Blanca. Admission is carefully controlled and costs S/35.00 - roughly $11 as of early 2009. |
 Colca Overlook #0556 The Colca Canyon could be the deepest canyon in the world, with the Grand Canyon third. Cotahuasi Canyon - also in Peru - is thought by some to be the deepest. |
 Condor #1539 The Condors have wing spans that can reach 10 feet. They are one of the longest living birds, with lifespans up to 50 years. |
 Condor #1540 Treks down into the Colca Canyon are popular. They begin at Cabanaconde, a town located at the edge of the canyon. |
 Condor #1543 The Colca Canyon begins as a lush, deep-green valley that gradually narrows and deepens, cut by the raging Colca River. |
 Condor #0734 The Andean Condor is part of the vulture family. As such, its major diet consists of carrion. |
One Peak #0682 This is one peak that rises up from the sheer cliff on the opposite side of the canyon from Cruz del Condor. |
 Condor and Clouds #0774 The Andean Condor has long been part of South American folklore, often considered a symbol of strength and health. |
 Condor #1545 The adult Andean Condor is black with a large, white ring of feathers at the base of the neck. |
Condor #1546 Although primarily a scavenger of large dead animals such as deer, llamas, or alpacas, the Andean Condor will resort to attacks on living animals when carion cannot be found. |
 Condor #1562 The Andean Condor is revered throughout Peru and much of South America. |
Condor and Mountains #0769 The Condors will sometimes fly so closely past the people watching that the whistle of the wind through the Condor's wings can be heard. |
 Condor Perched #0745 The Condors will occasionally perch near the top of the canyon nearby to the people there. |
Condors in Clouds #0695 Colca Canyon is so deep it is not unusual to be looking down into clouds that drift between the walls on either side. |
Condor #1565 The Andean Condor has the largest wingspan of any bird on earth. Here, one soars past viewers at the Cruz-del-Condor site at the edge of the Colca Canyon. |
 Condor #1570 The Andean Condor nests at elevations above 3,000 meters on sheer cliff walls. |
Condor #1572 Unlike birds of prey, the Andean Condor does not have talons that are effective as weapons of attack. Their feet are more adapted to walking and resemble those of a chicken. |
 Condors and Clouds #0731 Condors rarely flap their wings, but rather, soar upon the thermal updrafts that occur at the cliffs where they nest. |
 Condor #1592 Female Andean Condors will lay one or two eggs every second year. |
Photos of Crete in Greece |
Photos of Cyclamen Flowers |
|
The Photography of: |
|
Free DHTML scripts provided by Dynamic Drive |
Top |
| Flowers | Landscapes | People | Temples | Abstracts | Flight | Wildlife | Special Interests |
|
About my gallery |
FAQ |
Site Map |
All photographs are the property of Robert Stephens and TheWorldinLight Photographic Gallery. Unauthorized use or reproduction is prohibited by US copyright law. |
