30/08/2018
A site
holding the largest known Blue-throated
Macaw population has been turned into a nature reserve. With
roughly 300 individuals left in the wild, the species is Critically Endangered,
and so the protection of the 680-hectare site in Beni savanna, central Bolivia,
is positive news for their future. Formerly a cattle ranch, the reserve is home
to an ongoing artificial nest box programme, launched in 2005 to boost the
macaw's population.
The
potential of the area and the nest box programme to assist with the recovery of
the species is clear, with no less than 51 macaws fledging from the reserve in
the last fourteen years. Furthermore, in 2017, a pair that had previously
fledged from the nest boxes returned to breed. The land was purchased by
Bolivian conservation organization Asociación Armonía, with support from
American Bird Conservancy, the International Conservation Fund of Canada, IUCN
Netherlands, and World Land Trust.
Blue-throated
Macaw has declined throughout the past century, with habitat destruction a
key factor behind this drop in numbers, including the removal and burning
of large trees suitable for nesting. Illegal capture for the international pet
trade has also had an impact. Asociación Armonía has named the reserve the Laney
Rickman Blue-throated Macaw Reserve, in tribute to Laney Rickman, founder of
the charity Bird Endowment. Since 2006, Rickman expanded and supported the
macaw nest box program since, in partnership with Asociación Armonía.
The new
reserve, together with the existing Barba Azul Nature Reserve, unifies a total
area of protected land for the Blue-throated Macaw of 11,680 hectares. Rodrigo
Soria, Executive Director of Asociación Armonía, said: "Increasing the
Blue-throated Macaw population is more likely now that Armonía has secured this
important site as a reserve. This acquisition means that we can continue the
successful nest box programme without the worry of changing land ownership and
management."
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