Oña, land of the condor
The Oña Canton, located in the Azuay Province, 3,800 meters above sea level, is the home of the condor. This is an area where it´s not surprise to see these birds flying near its inhabitants.
Jesus Maria Espinoza, a resident of the area, says: “when I was a child I used to take care of my parent´s cattle and these huge birds appeared at the canyon, we knew that the male was wearing his white bow tie (plumage around the neck) and stood on the haunches of cows, he heard when we used to spur, but the female was never scared.”
At the Shuracpamba estate, owned by Alejandro Valdiviezo, condors have made their nests and since last year, along with the Mayor of Oña, Germania Ullauri, they are managing to declare this place a protected area, although there are not positive results.
Four condors have been spotted at the property, two of them satellite- tracked by the Amaru Foundation, in which Ernesto Arbelaez, biologist, constantly monitors since it became known the birth of a female condor in 2014, with its nest in Poetate, in front of Shuracpamba.
At the canyon of the Leon river there are roosts, innkeepers and nest location points,
according to Elman Donaula, a political leader who promoted the Condor Festival.
“The division of valleys over 3,300 meters; the passage of the geodesic mission, the Inca Trail, another archaeological remains, the climate, the people and the condor are reasons for people to come,” says Donaula.
Sources: http://www.eluniverso.com/noticias/2015/07/08/nota/5007487/aneja-convivencia-tierra-condor
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