First Spix’s Macaws born in Brazil are transferred to the north of Bahia

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Eight birds were transferred from the Reproduction Center in Minas Gerais to the city of Curaçá. First Spix’s Macaws born in Brazil were transferred to northern Bahia Eight Spix’s Macaws, the first born in Brazil, were transferred from a Breeding Center in Minas Gerais to the city of Curaçá, in northern Bahia, on the night of Thursday (18). An aircraft from the airline Azul was specially adapted for this operation and took off from Confins International Airport at 3:06 pm, arriving at Petrolina Airport at 6:04 pm. Teams from Bluesky and the Association for the Conservation of Threatened Parrots (ACTP) arrived at Petrolina airport, in Pernambuco, around 4 pm, with the Federal Highway Police (PRF) tactical patrol group, to carry out the logistical planning and ensure the safety of the birds on the way to the refuge in Bahia. Then, the convoy with the birds and technicians was escorted by the PRF to the reintroduction center, located in the rural area of ​​Curaçá, where the birds received a medical evaluation. First Spix’s Macaws born in Brazil are transferred to the north of Bahia Reproduction/TV São Francisco According to Cromwell Purchase, director of ACTP in Brazil, the birds arrived well and are adapting to the new environment. The Spix’s Macaw is one of the rarest birds in the world and was considered extinct in the wild in 2000. Since then, ACTP has worked together with other organizations to reintroduce the species to the Brazilian caatinga. Operation Guardians of the Spix’s Macaw is an important step towards the preservation and continuity of the species. Return to habitat Twelve Spix’s Macaws were released in the rural area of ​​Curaçá, in the interior of Bahia, the birds’ natural habitat, in December of last year. Earlier, in June of the same year, there was another release of other birds of this species. In March 2020, 52 birds returned to their place of origin, coming from Germany, after the spix macaw was considered extinct in the wild. The animals continue to be monitored by firefighters and ICMBio agents and ACTP biologists. They also count on the support of city residents to gather information on macaws that have been released into the wild. From extinction to release Spix’s Macaw released in Bahia Press Release/ACTP Endemic to Curaçá, the last Spix’s Macaw was seen in the rural area of ​​the city more than 20 years ago, in the company of a female of another species, the Maracanã macaw, and later it disappeared. To this day, it is not known for sure what happened to the last Spix’s Macaw seen in Curaçá, in the interior of Bahia, the only place where the species occurs in the wild. Researchers attribute the extinction of the species mainly to animal trafficking and the destruction of part of the Caatinga biome. Environmentalists and researchers have been working together since 2009 on the project to reintroduce macaws into nature. In 2012, the Action Plan for the Conservation of the Blue Macaw (PAN) was created, which includes the reintroduction of this rare Brazilian bird in the territory of origin. “It is a symbolic act that represents a lot. It represents a very big conservation progress, which we believe that we can recover endangered species and the Spix’s Macaw represents that. This project represents what biologists and nature lovers do for conservation, that we do it with passion, this is the most rewarding thing”, said Eduardo Araújo Barbosa, coordinator of PAN Ararinha-Azul (ICMBio). The work on the action plan began with tracking down the last Spix’s macaws that existed in the world, all in captivity. Most of it, according to the researchers, was found in Qatar. More than 100 were rescued and taken to the nursery of the German NGO ACTP, in the European country. At the institution, the macaws went through a process of natural reproduction and also artificial reproduction, so that some specimens could be brought to Brazil. Today, there are just over 200 Spix’s Macaws in the world, most of them in Germany. After a Technical Cooperation agreement between ICMBio, from the Ministry of the Environment (MMA), and the German NGO ACTP, more than 50 Spix’s Macaws were repatriated and brought to Brazil in 2020. They were taken straight to a breeding center was built in an isolated area in the countryside of Curaçá to receive the macaws. In the enclosure, offspring of the species were born in March last year. Access to the site is restricted to researchers from the German NGO ACTP and ICMBio. In the surroundings, an Environmental Protection Area (APA) of 90,000 hectares and a Wild Life Refuge for the Spix’s Macaw, with 30,000 hectares, were created. Curiosities Macaws in the nursery in Germany ACTP The Spix’s Macaw is the smallest of the macaws (in comparison with the Great Blue Macaw and the Lear’s Macaw), it is only 55 cm and weighs, on average, 350g; The scientific name Spixi gives a clue to the color of this bird’s feathers, which are a lighter blue, almost greyish; Spix’s Macaws can live for 30 years. They enter the reproduction phase at 4 and only stop at 24; Macaws are quite noisy, especially when they are frightened. Those that were released in Curaçá, as they were in captivity, are not very “friends” of man; They like to live in groups, especially outside the breeding season. Macaws usually feed early in the morning and late in the afternoon; They have 14 food items, they are very fond of seeds, mainly pine nuts and favela fruits; The macaws’ predators are sarues, bats, European and Africanized bees, snakes and birds of prey, such as the hawk; Macaws mate during the reproductive period, produce eggs. Then there is the incubation, which takes an average of 26 days. The chicks take approximately 90 days to leave the nest; The breeding season for the Spix’s Macaw normally takes place between November and May, when Curaçá records rain; Spix’s Macaws are affectionate and protective of their young while they are in the eggs. The female incubates the eggs most of the time and the male stays close to the nest, keeping an eye on the family; Chicks are encouraged by their parents to hunt for their own food. With the arrival of maturity, they become even more independent. The macaws want their young to learn to leave the nest right away, because while they are in the nest, it is the moment when they are most at risk of predation; Spix’s Macaws can live for 30 years. They enter the reproduction phase at 4 and only stop at 24; Macaws are quite noisy, especially when they are frightened. Those that were released in Curaçá, as they were in captivity, are not very “friends” of man; They like to live in groups, especially outside the breeding season. See more state news at g1 Bahia. Watch g1 and TV Bahia videos 💻

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