Condors are curious, playful, highly social, very smart and faithful as mates. Unfortunately, there are very few of them in the world today. Only two condor species still exist. The largest is the Andean condor, which can stand over four feet high and have a wingspan of nearly 11 feet. The California condor is almost as large.
Condors soar gracefully hundreds or even thousands of feet in the air. Andean condors, living high in the Andes Mountains, may ascend up to over 20,000 feet. Rising on air currents, they soar in wide circles. They can soar for 100 miles without flapping their huge wings. They are part of the earth’s cleanup committee and as they soar they are looking for dead animals, which is what they eat. They have an excellent sense of smell and among the best eyesight of any bird, so they can spot a dead animal from high in the air. Something amazing happens when they find one. Although only one or two of these birds may be seen in the sky, the minute one drops down to feed on a dead animal, others quickly appear, dropping down to share in the meal. Frequently they eat so much they have difficulty becoming airborne again.
The Creator designed them wisely. Their heads and long necks have no feathers so they stay cleaner while feeding on dead animals. But they often live where it is cold, so the Lord has given them a scarf of downy feathers at the base of their necks to keep them warm. The sharp hook on the end of their beaks helps them break into tough carcasses and tear off pieces of flesh. Their rough, scoop-shaped tongues help grab the flesh and move it into their gullets.
California condors are rare partly because many were killed and the large animals they eat are scarce. They were nearly extinct when a special program captured all the wild condors left in California in 1987 to help them live safely while producing more offspring. There were only 27 of them, but by mid-1999 they had increased to 161. Part of the problem is that they have a slow rate of reproduction. They don’t breed until they are six years old and lay only one egg every two years.
Condors have many nice qualities. But you wouldn’t want to eat what they eat, would you? Did you know that our souls also eat things? There are things a Christian shouldn’t “eat,” sinful — or even seemingly harmless — things ... things that belong to a world that hates God. God’s Word, the Bible, tells us of good things to enjoy. One of those is, “Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and Thy Word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of [my] heart” (Jeremiah 15:1616Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O Lord God of hosts. (Jeremiah 15:16)). What are you “eating”?
Did You Know?
Andean condors may ascend up to over 20,000 feet.
Messages of God’s Love 10/20/2024