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Scarlet Macaw Beauty
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Kuartos.com on 22 February, 2008 09:08:00
 
A stunningly beautiful bird, the scarlet macaw (Ara macao) was once found
throughout Mexico. But today, due to its commercialization as a household pet
and the destruction of its habitat, it is no longer found except occasionally in
the state of Chiapas. It is considered in grave danger of extinction.
With the aim of contributing to the preservation of this species,
Xcaret’s Wild Bird Breeding Aviary in 1993 established a program for its
reproduction in captivity, initiated with birds acquired through donations or
exchanges with zoos and, step-by-step, has completed the complicated procedure.
The adequate conditions needed for successful pairing must first be
established. This means the birds must be sexed, in other words, their sex is
defined through endoscopic surgery since males and females are physically
identical; afterwards, they are placed together and closely observed while they
choose a mate as it is common for two specimens of the same sex to pair off.
After the male-female pair is formed, it is isolated in a place offering safety
and intimacy and the appropriate nest is allocated. The adaptation and
incubation times are monitored, checking the number of viable eggs and the
temperature of the nest. Once the chick hatches, it is separated from its
parents allowing the female to lay more eggs and is then fed a balanced diet
manually through special syringes, every two hours at first; weighed daily for
the first three months, etc.
The work is arduous but the results are very gratifying: in the year 2000
Xcaret witnessed the birth of 42 birds. This grand project, aside from
facilitating the understanding of the reproductive biology and behavior of
scarlet macaws, is aimed towards the design and implementation of a program for
their reintroduction into their natural habitat, with the final goal of
repopulating zones where these beautiful birds could once be admired.