Ten Scarlet Macaws are going to be released in Guatemala

[Christinenc2000]

After the first successful release of Scarlet Macaws in Guatemala ARCAS organization is going to release the second group of these large colorful parrots. In this September, ten more Scarlet Macaws will fly in Sierra del Lacandón National Park. This information was published in interview with a vet and director of ARCAS Fernando Martinez on BBC Earth.

 

[JerseyWendy]

Thank you for another super interesting article, Chris!

WOW, 4 out of 10 birds won't survive? That's a pretty high mortality rate.

Still, this is a GREAT program!

 

[Allee]

Nice to see this successful endeavor. Thank you, Christine.

 

[dhraiden]

Interesting news, thanks for sharing. An increase of only 10% due to the addition of 10 individuals seems very low, but every bit helps I suppose. 40% does seem like a high mortality rate. I'd read of a different program in Peru, which removes those nestlings which would likely die in the wild, breeds them to adulthood, then releases them back, to bolster populations: Tambopata Macaw Project.

Based on growth rate data for more than 60 wild macaw nestlings in natural nests, researchers were able to plot growth curves for healthy nestlings and curves for nestlings that eventually died of malnutrition or disease. Once it was determined which nestlings probably would die, these nestlings were removed, handfed for months and released near TRC, thereby increasing the reproductive output of the wild population.[2] Between 1992-1994 breeding seasons a variety of methods of rescuing and hand-raising of otherwise doomed nestlings were tested at TRC. In the period of 1992-1995, 6 blue-and-yellow macaws (Ara ararauna), 5 red-and-green macaws (Ara chloropterus), and 21 scarlet macaws (Ara macao) were hand-raised and released into the wild population. These individuals later became called as “Chicos” (the kids). At this time TRC was only a 40x12 m building. These birds fledged and gradually integrated themselves into the wild macaw population.

 

[OutlawedSpirit]

I think it's wonderful to see things done to try and boost wild populations. Especially considering how detrimental the pet trade has been to some species. Even if there is a high mortality rate, it will still help the wild population by introducing a greater genetic diversity.