Description:
Fundación Cóndor Andino Perú will celebrate International Vulture Awareness Day 2026 with a two-day public event in Arequipa, southern Peru, focused on the ecological, cultural, educational, and touristic importance of vultures, with the Andean Condor (Vultur gryphus) as an emblematic species of the Peruvian Andes. The event will include a lecture series and citizen dialogue, a photographic exhibition, and educational activities for children and families. The talks will address the ecological role of vultures as natural recyclers and sanitary regulators of ecosystems, the conservation status and main threats facing the Andean Condor in Peru, its cultural and symbolic importance in Andean societies, responsible condor-watching tourism, and the role of public institutions, academia, civil society, and local communities in wildlife conservation. The photographic exhibition, “Wings that Clean, Connect, and Sustain: Vultures and Condors in Andean Landscapes,” will use nature photography to communicate vulture ecology, Andean landscapes, human–condor relationships, cultural identity, field research, environmental education, and underestimated threats such as poisoning, pollution, human–wildlife conflict, power lines, waste, and habitat loss. A family-oriented educational workshop, “Young Guardians of the Condor,” will introduce children and families to the ecological role of vultures through illustrated talks, educational games on food chains and scavengers, drawing activities, and a collective mural with messages from Arequipa in support of condor conservation. Through these activities, FCAP seeks to strengthen public appreciation of vultures, position the Andean Condor as a flagship species for conservation in southern Peru, and connect science, culture, photography, environmental education, responsible tourism, and citizen participation within the global framework of International Vulture Awareness Day.