01/06/2019
In 1492,
Christopher Columbus set foot on what is now the Dominican Republic, two-thirds
of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola. At that time the island's forests, other
natural areas and biological richness were largely intact, but the progressive
expansion of colonial settlement pushed nature into retreat. Today, the native
fauna and flora of the Dominican Republic is best found in its protected areas
or inland mountains, well away from the white-sand beach resorts and other
bustling holiday hot-spots. Like many endemic species, Hispaniolan
Amazon and Hispaniolan
Parakeet have declined to the extent that they are both listed in the
IUCN Red List as Vulnerable to extinction.
To help
in the protection of these two species, Loro Parque Fundación supported action
by the Hispaniolan Ornithological Society (SOH) carried out in the Sierra de
Bahoruco Mountain Range in the south-west of the country in the mid-2000s.
These mountains include a national park, which SOH included in its research on
the ecological needs of the psittacines, particularly to determine nesting
success and survival rates, the distribution and abundance of the populations,
and the documenting of current threats. Arising from the information it
collected, especially regarding the removal of chicks from nests to sell to the
domestic pet market, SOH made recommendations for the conservation of both
species in the Sierra de Bahorucos. However, despite the great biological
importance of Bahorucos as a centre of insular endemism, the countrywide
situation of both psittacines demands a broader response. The estimated total
population of Hispaniolan Amazon is between 6,000 and 15,000 mature
individuals, with Hispaniolan Parakeet even rarer at between 1,500 and 7,000
mature individuals. Both populations are still declining.
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