The Spix’s Macaws (Cyanopsitta spixii) are now extinct in the wild. But targeted breeding with the last surviving specimens saved the blue parrots from completely disappearing. The first of these animals have now been brought to Brazil, where they will be prepared for their resettlement and further life in the wild over the next few months. The real role models for the film “Rio” could get a second chance.
The blue-feathered Spix’s macaws became known worldwide primarily through the animated films “Rio” and “Rio 2”. Two of the last representatives of this parrot species, originally native to Brazil, play the main roles in them. The parrot species, which was first described in 1819, lived in wooded landscapes in the Brazilian state of Bahia, but was rare even then. In the 1970s and 1980s, the Spix’s macaws were caught and sold illegally due to their blue color and rarity, and parts of their habitat were cut down for maize cultivation. As a result, these parrots have been considered extinct in the wild for around 20 years.
The last of their kind
But even as the last wild representatives of the Spix’s macaws fought for their survival, conservationists and biologists tried to breed this species in captivity – initially only with moderate success. Because there were only a few dozen of these birds left, the genetic diversity of the Spix’s macaws had already been greatly reduced. Under these circumstances, breeding a viable population is particularly difficult. In fact, the first attempts at breeding in Brazil were initially unsuccessful. In 2016, the Association for the Conservation of Threatend Parrots e.V. (ACTP) took care of the blue parrots.
In cooperation with other partners, a breeding station was set up in Berlin and in 2018 almost all of the existing Spix’s macaws were brought together there. Since then, the Spix’s macaws have been successfully bred there, among other things, using artificial insemination. The small initial population of only 53 birds has now turned into 180 healthy parrots. From these, the first animals are now to be resettled to their original home. On March 3, 2002, just in time for World Wildlife Day, 49 Spix’s Macaws from Berlin and three animals from the Belgian partner station started their flight to Brazil.
Back to Brazil
The target of the blue parrots was a protected area in the Caatinga region, close to the original distribution area of ​​the Spix’s macaws. In a special breeding and release enclosure, the Spix’s macaws are to be prepared for their resettlement and further life in the wild in the next few months. They receive help from feathered mentors, among others: Red-backed macaws that have been living in this area for a long time and that can show newcomers, among other things, where to find food and how they can protect themselves against birds of prey. If you get used to it, the first group of Spix’s Macaws will be released into freedom in 2021.
“Our goal is that all Spix’s macaws have successfully adapted to the as yet unknown conditions in Brazil by 2021, so that they can finally be released into the Caatinga, their new home,” says the website of the ACTP. The new home of the Spix’s Macaws will be a protected area in the Caatinga area. The resettlement of the parrots is part of a larger community program in Caatinga, declared a protected area in 2018, where biodiversity and organic farming are to be promoted. The approximately 7,500 pupils from the schools there will be taught about the project and should be sensitized to the topic of species protection and eco-tourism, as reported by ACTP.
Association for the Conservation of Threatend Parrots e.V. (ACTP); Spix’s Macaw – the return of a species