Native American totem animal in Hungary

Extremely rare condor arrived at the Nyiregyhaza Zoo – Sosto Zoo announced. This unique species can be seen at the zoo for the first time, and a male from Germany will also come to the hen soon, travelo.hu said.

The huge Andean Condor was worshipped as a totem animal by several Native American tribes and it is the heraldic animal of Bolivia, Chile and Ecuador. This rare species has become endangered in addition to hunting, due to the increasing pollution of the ocean, because the dead from poison and stranded animals are also the food of condors, causing the poison is accumulating in their bodies as well.

The condor is native in the area of Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Peru and Venezuela, South America, where they live only in opine alpine terrain, especially in the Andes 3000-5000m above sea level. This requires its huge – 270-330 cm – wingspan, since the air currents are very strong there, and it is looking for food while sailing in the air.

According to travelo.hu, it moves clumsy on the ground, it only remains down while feeding; the resting and nesting places are completely inaccessible. It usually builds its nest on open cliff-tops, hundreds of meters in height. In search of food, it often makes a several-hundred-kilometer way, because it adapted almost entirely on carrion consumption. However, its feet are big, but weak for grabbing a full-bodied animal and it can only tear apart the softened bodies of dead animals with its huge beak.

The New World vultures’ neck and head are usually bare and bright, however, the bigger species – like the condor – also have a collar with thick feathers. Its unique feature among the order of accipitriformes is that males are bigger than hens and the males also wear high helmets.

based on the article of travelo.hu
translated by BA

Photos: Sosto Zoo Facebook page

Source: http://travelo.hu/