Certainly the animal most characteristic of the Andes is the giant condor, the largest flying bird on earth. Condors are carrion feeders, and in the mountains they sweep the open slopes looking for food. They ride the thermals with seldom a flap of their great wings (up to a ten-foot span), cruising effortlessly for hours and attaining altitudes well above 20,000 feet. Other birds of the Andes include several varieties of hawk. Called huaman in Quechua, hawks are easy to observe in the mountains where they often soar in pairs using thermals along cliffs to lift themselves almost effortlessly high into the sky. Around mountain lakes, bird life abounds: ducks, geese, grebes, teals, coots, cormorants, and even flamingos frequent the cold waters of Andean lakes and ponds.
Though it is possible to see the squirrelike viscachas scurrying among the rocks in boulder fields, most of the larger wild mammals of the Andes are very seldom observed. The taruka or Andean stag is rare indeed. Hunted vigorously by the peasants, the taruka survives only in the highest, most remote regions of the Andes. Another very rare, large mammal is the spectacled bear, called ucumari in Quechua. Black but for white rings around its eyes, this bear inhabits the paramos region of Ecuador and the margin between the puna and the cloud forest in Peru and Bolivia.
Charactersitic of the Andes are the various members of the camelidae family -the vicuna, guanaco, llama and alpaca. Despite its relatioship to the ungainly camel, for grace and delicacy of form, few creatures can match the lovely vicuna. The vicuna lives in the cold altitudes between 13,000 and 16,000 feet, and its silky fleece has been valued since long before the Inca royalty claimed it for their exclusive use. Threatened by both intense hunting and severe habitat reduction, the vicuna is now a protected specie. The guanaco is a much larger camelidae, over twice the size of the slight, 100-pound vicuna. Resembling a small llama, the guanaco inhabits both highland and coastal lowland areas in Peru and Bolivia.
The llama and alpaca, domesticated relatives of the vicuna, are common throughout the mountains of the Andean countries. Llamas are used primarily as beasts of burden and for meat. Alpacas are raised primarily for their high-quality wool and are distinguishable from llamas by their heavy coats and broad, flat tails.