CONSERVATION INSIGHT D

SPIX’S MACAW THE PARROT MADE FAMOUS BY THE FILM RIO COULD MAKE A COMEBACK IN THE WILD IN THE NEXT FEW YEARS, SAYS

uring the 1990s, there was just one Spix’s macaw left in the wild and that one disappeared in 2000. Luckily, there is a captive population that should reach 170 by next year and there are plans for a reintroduction programme.

Spix’s macaw is only found in Brazil and is confined to the socalled ‘caatinga’ biome in the north-east. Caatinga is a dry area dominated by small trees, bushes and cacti and forests with larger trees that form alongside rivers.

The parrots require the large trees, especially the caraibas that can grow 25m high, for nest cavities. Though habitat loss was a factor in its disappearance, the main reason the species went extinct in the wild was the illegal pet trade.

And while there is still a problem with people trying to collect wild birds, the area around Curaçá, where the caatinga habitat is found, is very different to what it was 30 or 40 years ago and it is much harder to do things without being noticed.

For instance, when a Spix’s macaw unexpectedly turned up in the area in 2016 (probably an escapee from a private collection), the local community created a monitoring network to protect it, so we believe there would be good surveillance of any birds that are released.

A reintroduction of Spix’s macaw could happen in the next year or two. The two main organisations that have captive birds – the Association for the Conservation of Threatened Parrots and Al Wabra Wildlife Preservation – are currently fundraising with other partners to build a breeding centre in Curaçá. The plan is to learn how best to do it using bluewinged macaws initially, because they are most similar to Spix’s in terms of behaviour.

We also hope to officially designate a Spix’s macaw protected area of some 50km2 in the region later this year.

Once we have done that, there is no reason why we cannot start releasing captive birds very soon.

THE SPIX’S MACAW WENT EXTINCT BECAUSE OF THE ILLEGAL PET TRADE.”

Spix’s macaws in a zoo in Sao Paulo. The birds were transferred from here to a breeding centre five years ago. There are plans to reintroduce the species to the wild.