(PITTSBURGH) – June 23, 2015 – Four massive Andean Condors have a new home at the National Aviary, one designed to provide an excellent habitat for breeding and give visitors a unique and intimate view of this endangered species.

Lurch, Precious, Handsome and Lianni, as the birds are named, are enjoying the exhibit's features, which mimic this species' native habitat in the Andes Mountains. Condor Court features a 20-foot high rock façade, nesting caves, bathing pools, up-close viewing, and a conservation station similar to field research stations used by National Aviary researchers in the Andes Mountains. A heated holding building has also been built to aid in managing the condors and to provide access to nests without disturbing the birds.

"The National Aviary is now the only accredited zoo in North America exhibiting two pairs of Andean Condors as well as managing them for breeding," says National Aviary Managing Director Cheryl Tracy. "The decline of these birds in Ecuador has been steady and dramatic, and the National Aviary is proud to be playing a key role in international efforts to protect them. Here in Pittsburgh, Condor Court will provide an excellent setting for breeding, and for educational programming. In Ecuador, we've funded one of the world's largest Andean Condor exhibits and breeding programs, as well as a veterinary clinic modeled after our own. We are working with our partners in Ecuador to establish a reintroduction program so that chicks hatched at the National Aviary can be released into the wild."

Andean Condor populations in Ecuador have reached critical levels, with less than 50 remaining in the wild. If breeding is successful, and the Ecuador program continues to develop as planned, chicks from the National Aviary will eventually be relocated to Ecuador and reintroduced to the wild as part of a conservation effort between the National Aviary and Bioparque Amaru, a zoo and conservation center in Cuenca, Ecuador.

Two Andean Condor chicks bred and hatched at the National Aviary in the past were released in Colombia, South America: Kendall, a male, was released in 2005; and Kachina, a female, was released in 2012. The National Aviary has housed Andean Condors since 1985 when its first female, Lianni, arrived.

With a wingspan of 10 feet, Andean Condors are one of the largest raptors in the world. They inhabit high mountains regions from Venezuela to Patagonia. As scavengers and members of the vulture family, they feed on dead animals, playing an important role in removing potentially disease-causing germs and bacteria from the environment. Andean Condors face many threats, including loss of habitat and natural food sources due to human population growth and the conversion of land to agricultural use.

Other birds exhibited in Condor Court include a Bald Eagle, a pair of Pygmy Falcons (one of the world's smallest birds of prey), and two Cabot's Tragopan, a type of pheasant found in south-east China.
Condor Court is now open to the public during National Aviary operating hours from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.daily.
###
About the National Aviary
The National Aviary is America's only independent indoor nonprofit zoo dedicated exclusively to birds. Located in West Park on Pittsburgh's historic North Side, the National Aviary's diverse collection comprises 500 birds representing more than 150 species from around the world, many of them threatened or endangered in the wild. The National Aviary's large walk-through exhibits create an intimate, up-close interaction between visitors and free-flying birds, including opportunities to hand-feed and to meet many species rarely found in zoos anywhere else in the world. Hours of operation are 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. daily. For admission rates and more information visit www.aviary.org.


MEDIA CONTACT:
Robin Weber
Director of Marketing & Communications
National Aviary
700 Arch Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15212
Office: 412.258.9435
Mobile: 412.215.9199
Email: robin.weber@aviary.org