The Andean Condor is one of the largest flying birds in the world. It has a wingspan of up to 3.5 meters (138 inches), weighs about 25 lbs and can stand up 1.25 meters (49 inches) tall. It is also the national symbol of some South American States including Argentina, Bolivia and Chile. However, thanks to a loss of habitat and aggressive hunting by humans, the majestic bird is now close to extinction.

To try reverse the trend, several special restoration and breeding programs have been established - Amongst them are two at the Buenos Aires Zoo in Argentina and the Metropolitan Zoo in Santiago, Chile.

Weak, wounded or sick birds are first brought to the zoos where they are diagnosed, measured and then tagged with a microchip. Once they have recovered, they are taken to a rehabilitation center in Talagante. Here, the birds are observed under as much of a natural environment as possible, in order to evaluate if they can survive in the wild, amongst their own species.

The ones that are deemed unsuitable are kept back for a special breeding program, in order to help increase the population. That's because while Condors can live for up to 70 years in the wild, they produce only one egg every two to three years, making every egg crucial to the survival of the species.

The eggs produced by the captive Condors are carefully collected and taken to an artificial incubation center. When the chick is ready to hatch, zoo workers help the baby Condor emerge from its shell. Once hatched, the chicks are reared in separate nurseries utilizing hand puppets that resemble adult Condors.

As the birds grow older, they are moved to holding areas with adult Condors where they learn how to survive in the wild. Birds that are ready to be released are fitted with bands and transmitters, so that they can be tracked after their release. The whole process from birth to release can take as long as three years. Since the zoo projects were established, over 100 birds have been bred in captivity and released.

While the Andean Condor looks scary, it poses no threat to humans. That's because it is a vulture that spends its entire day, sometimes traveling as much as 150 miles, in search of a carcass, which it locates primarily by sight. They prefer larger animals like deer or cattle, which thanks to their hooked beaks, they are very well equipped to tear into. They can go without food for a few days, but when they come across a big carcass, they tend to gorge so much, that they sometimes have a hard time lifting off!

Sources: McClatchydc.com,wikipedia.org,wcs.org