• The Spix's Macaw (Cyanopsitta spixii) – a species of parrot that has been extinct in the wild for over 20 years
• On June 11, 2022, the first eight Spix's Macaws were released into the wild of the Brazilian Caatinga
• The non-profit Berlin wildlife conservation association ACTP plays a key role
• "Spix's Macaw Release Project": Symbolic success for species protection and a great opportunity for animals and humans
It has now been seven weeks since the first eight Spix's Macaws were released, and the German Association for the Conservation of Threatened Parrots e.V. (ACTP) and the federal agency ICMBio employees have had a fantastic time monitoring the released birds in the Caatinga. The parrots are excellent fliers; they evade the current airborne predators with incredible evasive maneuvers and finesse. All eight Spix's Macaws still regularly return to the Spix's Macaw Release Center's large release aviary and also visit the breeding center. The on-site research biologists enthusiastically observe the interaction between the released Spix's Macaws and their conspecifics at the center and the ongoing interactions with the Illiger's Macaws in the wild.
"Eating wild food is crucial," says Dr. Cromwell Purchase, the director of ACTP Brazil and Spix's Macaw Release Center manager. Although the birds were fed various wild foods during training for release, and branches with edible fruit and seeds were placed in the aviaries, the birds still needed to learn a lot about foraging in the wild.
But now it has started! The Spix's Macaws actively seek out four different plants that we have noticed so far, eating their fruits, seeds or blossoms. Including a tree currently in bloom that bears black fruits that the birds were fed before in training. But they also eat tree blossoms which interestingly were never offered to them before. Illiger's Macaws frequent this area in large numbers; recently, 23 parrots were counted at once. The Spix's Macaws are interested in the Illiger’s macaws active foraging; they observe them closely and imitate their behavior.
"We are impressed and overwhelmed by the incredible success story we are witnessing, with the Illiger's Macaw as a teacher species for the naive Spix's Macaws. In a nutshell, this first release has been successful beyond our wildest dreams. We couldn’t have asked for a better wild start for the species," reports Dr. Cromwell Purchase.
More information on the Spix's macaw:
The Spix's macaw has been renowned worldwide since the film "Rio." The animal was discovered around 200 years ago by the German naturalist Johann Baptist von Spix. Its original home is the Brazilian Caatinga, a Savannah landscape located in the northeastern federal state of Bahia. Today, the Spix's macaw is one of the rarest birds in the world. Due to its distinctive blue color, it became a popular target for poachers and collectors worldwide in the past. Man's destruction of its natural habitat and the illegal trade caused the population in the wild to decline steadily in the 1980s and 1990s until, in 1990, only one bird was living in the wild. Ten years later, the species was officially declared extinct in the wild by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Only a minimal number of privately-owned birds worldwide had survived. Breeding seemed impossible as the genetic pool was too limited to maintain a healthy genetic diversity in such a small population.
About ACTP e.V. - Association for the Conservation of Threatened Parrots e.V.:
Association for the Conservation of Threatened Parrots e.V. (ACTP) is a registered non-profit association. The association was founded in 2006 and has its headquarters in Berlin. He dedicated himself to protecting, preserving, and building up endangered parrot populations and their habitats. In 2008 the association bred the first Spix’s macaws in Berlin. Association website: act-parrots.org
About ICMBio:
A federal agency, responsible for the conservation programs in Brazil. It is the coordinator of the Spix’s-Macaw-Action-Plan and captive breeding program. It is the manager of the Spix’s macaw wildlife refuge and environmental protected area. Agency website: gov.br/icmbio/pt-br
more information: spixs-macaw.org
hashtag: #spixsAreComingHome
more footage: vimeo.com/actp
