Breeding behavior of a reintroduced pair of andean condor (vultur gryphus) in the central andes of Colombia

Between 1989-2013, 69 Andean Condors (Vultur gryphus) were reintroduced in eight sites in the Andes of Colombia. Due to the lack of monitoring programs, little is known about the ecology and biology of these reintroduced populations. We present the first observations on a reintroduced breeding pair. For 36 months, we examined the breeding behavior of a pair of condors in a nest cave in the central Andes of Colombia. In June 2013, we observed a chick of about 6-7 months of age in the nest cave. The most remarkable outcomes of these observations are (1) that females spend more time guarding the chick whereas (2) males focus on guarding the nest cave. While the chick was in the nest cave (80 h of observations), the female was present in the vicinity of the nest cave and attended the chick for a longer time period than the male. However, in the absence of a chick or eggs (880 h of observations), the male was observed more often in the vicinity of the nest cave than the female. Nevertheless, we found no significant differences in vigilance patterns between the sexes. Intraspecific interactions of the Andean Condor with other raptors in the area were recorded during the observation period of this study. We make some predictions on the timing of reproduction of condors based on this reintroduced pair in Colombia and compare them with those reported elsewhere. Tracking released populations of condors is essential to ensure the positive impact of reintroduction efforts.