Editor's note: This article is a part of a series reviewing Utah history for KSL.com's Historic section.SALT LAKE CITY — Andy stands mightily above Tracy Aviary on a damp spring weekend morning, perched above the rest of his peer in his section of the park: King of the Andes.

That is until he sees Helen Dishaw, curator of bird programs at Tracy Aviary and Andy’s primary handler. As she approaches, he hops down the steps of his enclosure and out the door. He knows it’s time for his morning walk around the block.

It’s been his semi-daily routine for about eight years. Andy enjoys waltzing around the rest of the aviary, pecking at unusual or interesting things that catches his eye — today that’s a chain on a post, an erosion control bag lying around the park’s walkway and a camera tripod — and cutting across a flower bed on his route to avoid a building he doesn’t seem to like.

Tracy Aviary has been Andy’s home for the past 59 years. The Andean condor has been a crowd favorite for decades. National Geographic photographers have come to take pictures of him and over 13,000 people follow a Facebook page created for updates on the lively condor. It’s why aviary officials joke he’s a “cele-birdy.”

This month, the aviary celebrates Andy’s 60th birthday. That’s a milestone birthday for anyone, but especially for an Andean condor. In the wild, the species usually tops at that age. However, National Geographic notes some Andean condors living in captivity can live upward of 75 years — the oldest one living to be 79.

The aviary is celebrating with a party fit for a king. They have celebrated Andy’s birthday for years, but this time is a little bigger.

They are compiling videos from people all over the world wishing Andy a happy birthday. They are also taking in art submissions of Andy from children and adults alike to be displayed during the April 27 celebration, Dishaw said.

On April 27, there will be cake — a special kind for Andy — and a more traditional kind for aviary guests. Crafts, games and other activities are planned from 9 a.m. through 5 p.m. that day, according to Dishaw. Andy will be out of his enclosure at some point of the day to open gifts.

It’s a celebration Dishaw believes Andy deserves.

“I would safely say he’s done more to inspire understanding and care for vultures than probably any other bird that’s ever lived,” she said. “It should just be a really fun day to celebrate one of the most iconic birds that we have here.”

An aviary favorite over the years

Tracy Aviary used to celebrate Andy’s birthday in January, but it’s since been moved to April and it’s a spring tradition, Dishaw said. The exact date isn’t known because there weren’t records when birds hatched in 1959 quite like there are records now.

All that’s known about Andy’s birthday is it happened sometime in 1959 at the San Diego Zoo. He was bred as a part of the zoo’s program to help repopulate the threatened species, Dishaw explained.

Some of the birds in the program were released back in the wild in South America. Andy was transferred to Tracy Aviary the following year and has remained in Utah ever since.

Needless to say, a lot has changed in Andy’s lifetime. When Andy hatched, gas cost 28 cents per gallon, according to Slate, and stamps cost less than a nickel. President Dwight D. Eisenhower was in office and Americans were still a few years away from learning who The Beatles were.

One thing that hasn’t changed over time is aviary visitors’ love for Andy.

“We meet (visitors) regularly as we’re walking around the aviary that are here with their grandkids and they’ll say they saw Andy when they were a child, brought their kids to see him and now are here with their grandkids, which is pretty humbling when you think he’s been inspiring people and people have been loving coming to visit him longer than I’ve been alive,” Dishaw said. “It’s pretty cool.”

Andy at 60

Dishaw has worked with Andy since she joined the aviary nearly a decade ago. She describes him as genial and laid back. Shortly after she first started working with him, Dishaw suggested taking Andy out for walks around the aviary grounds and there are now groups of people who can pay to tag along.

There’s a reason she thinks Andy has made a difference regarding how people think of vultures. He and the five other vultures (of various species) at Tracy Aviary are the opposite of what’s often portrayed about them.

The animal gets a bad rap. Think about it, it’s generally not considered a compliment if someone calls you a vulture.

“Hollywood — even Disney — and pop culture doesn’t do them any favors. They are always portrayed as the villains or kind of the goofy characters and none of that is actually true of vultures in general. They’re very intelligent birds and that intelligence leads to a lot of curiosity,” Dishaw argues. “They’re very clean birds — which people are sometimes surprised to hear. They’re very social, they mate for life, they don’t hurt any other living creature and, of course, they’re super environmentally friendly.”

Andy’s species remains threatened and Andean condors are slow to reproduce which makes it hard for them to move out of that classification, she added.

As for Andy himself, he's really shown no signs of slowing down at 60. He’s just as energetic and curious as ever. It’s why Jackie Kozlowski, the senior bird show trainer at Tracy Aviary, believes and hopes he could one day live to break a world record.

“The oldest Andean condor on record was 79,” she said, “and I think Andy’s going to top that by decades — we hope.”

More information about Andy’s birthday celebration on April 27 at Tracy Aviary can be found here. The cost of admission is $11.95 for adults (13+) and $7.95 for children. The deadline to upload a video is Saturday. Videos can be uploaded here.

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