Saving Scarlet Macaws
Scarlet macaws in Mesoamerica are highly threatened by poaching and habitat loss. In Guatemala’s Maya Biosphere Reserve, only a few hundred remain.
The 5 Great Forests where they live, which stretch from Mexico to Colombia, contain 7.5% of the world’s biodiversity and support 5 million people. These birds are one of the iconic species found there. Illegal cattle ranching by outside groups is a major threat.
Our team works at a remote site to save the birds by hand raising “low weight” chicks, or third or fourth eggs. In the wild, these chicks typically do not survive. The chicks are genetically in good condition, however, and do fine once hand raised.
After the chicks mature, they are placed in foster nests or a flight cage, which is left open to allow them to fly into the forest, boosting the overall population.
Venture with us to the reserve with WCS Guatemala's Rony García-Anleu to learn more about what it's like to work on this special project.
Recently, I visited our field site where we headstart the macaws.
We work in a dangerous place far from civilization. The forest isn't welcoming.
The laboratory where we care for the chicks runs on solar energy. A gas generator is our back up in case that doesn't work and we need power to keep the chicks healthy.
We maintain a constant presence here to care for these birds. It's not easy work.
From the camp we also monitor macaw nests and deploy Acoustic Recording Units to track local wildlife
Our hard work is paying off. Every year now, dozens of birds from the lab reach the age where they are ready to be released.
This has proven a boost to the population. Our monitoring work shows there are now more birds produced per nest.
That's good news for the species, the ecosystem, and all who rely on it.
WCS Wild Audio
Listen to our podcast with Rony about this project.
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