Reintroduction strategy for the Andean Condor Conservation Program, Argentina

Abstract

The Andean condor Vultur gryphus is the largest bird in the world with flight capacity. For thousands of years the Andean condor has been honoured as a sacred link between space and humans by indigenous communities. In the last 100 years, the range of this emblematic species contracted rapidly and the Andean condor was pronounced extinct at both ends of its endemic South American range, in Venezuela and on the Atlantic coast of Patagonia. The Andean condor appears in Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora and is listed as in ‘Danger of Extinction’ by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. In addition, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, this species is classified as Near Threatened. In 1991, the Andean Condor Conservation Program (PCCA: Programa Conservación Cóndor Andino) was founded in Argentina. The PCCA started by performing genetic analyses and documenting the condor population in zoological institutions in a Latin American regional studbook. The PCCA then developed artificial‐incubation programmes and techniques for hand rearing birds without human contact, and worked to rescue and rehabilitate wild condors. The PCCA has succeeded in rearing 57 chicks and rescuing 197 wild condors. This paper describes the strategy used by the PCCA to reintroduce 160 condors throughout South America.

Editorial: The Role of Zoos and Aquariums in Reintroductions and Other Conservation Translocations

“…This flow of individuals between wild, semi‐wild and conservation‐breeding populations is exemplified by several papers in this volume. For example, the Programa Conservación Cóndor Andino's (PCCA) strategy to reinforce wild Andean condor Vultur gryphus populations in Argentina has a comprehensive conservation plan that combines in situ and ex situ components, including action to protect extant wild populations, the rescue, rehabilitation and release (where possible) of condors, breeding for release and a managed insurance population within zoos (Astore et al ., ). Similarly, Hogg et al .…”

“…This may take the form of an outreach project as per the example of Astore et al . (), who combined formal and informal education sessions and materials to inform the public and change attitudes towards Andean condors. Similarly, the innovative education campaign to address widespread negative attitudes towards snakes in Antigua has contributed to the success of the Antiguan racer Alsophis antiguae reintroduction programme (Daltry et al ., ).…”

“…This flow of individuals between wild, semi-wild and conservation-breeding populations is exemplified by several papers in this volume. For example, the Programa Conservaci on C ondor Andino's (PCCA) strategy to reinforce wild Andean condor Vultur gryphus populations in Argentina has a comprehensive conservation plan that combines in situ and ex situ components, including action to protect extant wild populations, the rescue, rehabilitation and release (where possible) of condors, breeding for release and a managed insurance population within zoos (Astore et al, 2017). Similarly, Hogg et al (2017) detail an integrated species-conservation strategy for the Tasmanian devil Sarcophilus harrisii that includes the management of a metapopulation across zoo-based facilities, free-ranging enclosures, an island and a fenced peninsula in the presence of a contagious lethal cancer, the devil facial tumour disease.…”

“…This experience can be applied to conservation-translocation projects, which often include a social or education component to encourage a cultural shift in attitude towards the species of concern, its habitat or the wider environment (George & Sandhaus, 2016). This may take the form of an outreach project as per the example of Astore et al (2017), who combined formal and informal education sessions and materials to inform the public and change attitudes towards Andean condors. Similarly, the innovative education campaign to address widespread negative attitudes towards snakes in Antigua has contributed to the success of the Antiguan racer Alsophis antiguae reintroduction programme (Daltry et al, 2017).…”

“…Zoos and aquariums have considerable experience in managing a variety of taxa resulting in them being well placed to contribute to a wide range of conservationtranslocation projects. The papers in this volume exemplify how zoos and aquariums can participate in such projects for birds (Astore et al, 2017;Fraser et al, 2017;Fritz et al, 2017;Mawson & Lambert, 2017), mammals (Hogg et al, 2017;Mawson & Lambert, 2017;Parrott et al, 2017), reptiles (Daltry et al, 2017;Fraser et al, 2017;Mawson & Lambert, 2017;Woodfine et al, 2017), amphibians (Ettling et al, 2017;Mawson & Lambert, 2017), terrestrial invertebrates (Gardiner et al, 2017), aquatic invertebrates (Nightingale et al, 2017) and plants (Bird et al, 2017). This volume does not contain any case studies of conservation-translocation projects for fish, and although zoos and aquariums have certainly been involved in re-establishing fish populations in the wild (e.g.…”