The Ministry of the Environment has filed a formal complaint with the Azuay prosecutor’s office to prompt an investigation into photos of a dead condor that have been circulating on social media.

The bird is a protected species in Ecuador. There are only thought to be 50 condors left in the country.

In the photos, proud locals hold up the dead bird for the camera. The condor is a scavenger that lives in the high Andes. 

A ministry of the environment director says that although its too early to release any names, they think they know who shot the condor out of the sky with a long range rifle. They are still looking for the animal’s dead body. They’re interested in onle two people for the crime itself, but say that the men who took or posed in the photos could also face charges of obstructing justice, even if they did not participate in hunting the bird.

The poaching is thought to have occurred near the Quimsacocha reserve, in Gualay.

Someone who kills a condor could spend up to four years in jail.

Original story