The Skies Aren’t Silent - Tuning in to Romy and Michelle
Andean Condors: Romy and Michelle
Earlier this year, Wild Connect’s David and Todd journeyed to the hills of Wales to visit the Horstmann Vulture Conservation Trust, home to two magnificent Andean condors: Romy and Michelle. With the support of CEO Adam Bloch and Head of Research Holly Cale, they placed one of Wild Connect’s unique infrasonic Biophones inside the condors’ roost—opening a window into a world humans cannot hear.
The Horstmann Trust is a sanctuary of hope for endangered vultures, dedicated to breeding, rewilding, and safeguarding genetic diversity. Here, young birds are raised with minimal human contact, preparing them for release back into their native skies.
Infrasound—vibrations below 20 Hz—is inaudible to humans but travels immense distances through air and ground. Elephants and some bird species are known to use it to communicate and navigate. For condors, the mystery remains. Their effortless soaring across vast ranges suggests they may also be tuned to these hidden frequencies.
Wild Connect’s Biophones, able to detect vibrations as low as 10 Hz, are designed to capture rumbles, clucks, or seismic signals beyond our perception. Could these be messages of warning, reassurance, or courtship? As Todd reflects: “In the way that whales sing across oceans, perhaps these high soarers call across the rivers of the sky.”
The project brings together Wild Connect, the Horstmann Trust, and Conservation Without Borders—whose founder, Sacha Dench, first linked the partners through her Flight of the Vultures initiative. By combining technology, conservation, and storytelling, the collaboration gives voice to a species too often misunderstood and overlooked.
By listening, we learn.
And by knowing, we can protect.
https://www.conservation-without-borders.org/flight-of-the-vulture
https://www.wild-connect.com/the-biophone/
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