10/02/2019
Deep in the
verdant forests of northern Guatemala, an exemplary crossover between field
management and aviculture of techniques is taking place in order to
nurture Scarlet
Macaw chicks to independence.
This
initiative is part of a long-term project of WCS (Wildlife Conservation
Society)-Guatemala, supported by the Loro Parque Fundación (LPF), for the
conservation of the northern cyanoptera subspecies of Scarlet Macaw
which, as implied by its scientific name, is differentiated by the greater
extent of blue in the wings.
There is
also another important distinction. Taking into account the huge geographical
distribution of the nominate subspecies macao through South America north to
Costa Rica, Scarlet Macaw is not recognised as a threatened species. By
contrast, the northern subspecies, because of habitat loss and internal trade
within its native countries, has disappeared from most of its former haunts and
is threatened with extinction. For this reason, in 2002 WCS-Guatemala began the
project in the Department of Petén, Guatemala, the area containing the most
important remaining northern Scarlet Macaw nesting sites in the Maya Biosphere
Reserve (MBR), especially El Peru, El Burral and La Corona. The project not
only works to sustain the high concentration of active nests in this area, it
also has importance to maintain the connectivity of northern Scarlet Macaw
populations throughout the Selva Maya of Mexico and Guatemala, and potentially
with the Belizean population.
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