Story By: Ana Lacasa, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Central European News

Video Credit: CEN/@ProgramaConservacionCondorAndino

This heartwarming footage shows a baby condor hatching from its egg after it was one of two rare birds born as part of a preservation programme.

The female Andean condors (Vultur gryphus) were born at the Ecopark of Buenos Aires, the Argentine capital and were named Tayel, meaning Sacred Song in the Mapuche language, and Mawun, which means rain.

Tayel weighed 182.8 grammes on its birth and Mawun weighed 201.7 grammes. Both females took three days to break through the shell of their eggs after an incubation period of 58 days.

In the video, Tayel can be seen breaking through the shell of the egg.

The condors will be cared for at the centre’s incubation centre where puppets will be used to represent their parents. They will be kept in isolation from humans as this is important for their survival in the wild.

They will be released on the Atlantic Patagonia coast in 2020, according to the Andean Condor Conservation Program (PCCA).

The births reportedly give hope to those working on the recovery of the species which is listed as ‘Near Threatened’ on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List.

The birds, the largest flying bird in the world by combined measurement of weight and wingspan, are a target for poachers and have also been affected by the use of pesticides.

Andean condors can reach a wingspan of 3.3 metres (10 feet 10 inches) and can weigh up to 15 kilogrammes (33 lbs).

They can live for more than 70 years and reach sexual maturity at five or six years old.

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