There are fewer than 2,000 Cape
parrots left in South Africa's southern mistbelt forests.
PUBLISHED MAY 11, 2018
HOGSBACK, SOUTH AFRICA
South
Africa’s Hogsback State Forest is a magical preserve of dewy ferns and giant
trees covered in a fuzzy lichen called old man’s beard. Rumor has it that the
region’s mist-wreathed hills and plunging waterfalls inspired the literary
imagination of J.R.R. Tolkien, the South
African-born author of the Lord of the Rings trilogy.
Hogsback is
a haven for yellowwoods, South Africa’s national tree. Logging companies favor
the tall evergreen for furniture, and since the late 1800s they’ve razed 60
percent of the country’s yellowwood forests.
The widespread loss of these
native trees has had dire consequences for South Africa’s only native parrot, the
Cape parrot, which relies on yellowwoods for food and nesting cavities. An
often-fatal virus called psittacine beak and feather disease has also taken a
toll. The virus’s origins are debated, but research suggests wild parrots may
have caught it from captive birds kept in aviaries. (Learn
more about the impacts of deforestation.)
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