The Endangered Spix Macaw
The Endangered Spix Macaw
By: Blessen Kuriakose
The luscious, blue ombre feathers of the illustrious Spix Macaw have mesmerized many for years. Many may recognize these birds from the famous movie Rio. Their growing popularity over the years has attracted much attention towards them. The Spix Macaw, otherwise known as Cyanopsitta spixii, is a parrot originating from Brazil. German naturalist Johann Baptist Ritter von Spix first discovered the majestic animal on his expedition to Brazil in 1819.
Little is known of their natural habitats as they occupy little space in the vast expanses of ornithological literature. These birds were spotted in nature in the state of Bahia of Brazil in the year 1986. Soon, these animals were captured and sold for very high prices to bidders in the US and Europe. This species of parrot has been considered extinct for many years. It was declared extinct in the wild in the year 2000. The many causes of this decline in the population of Spix Macaw include illegal trafficking of animals and the destruction of bird/animal habitats, caused mainly by human influence. Recently, efforts to restore the population of the Spix Macaw have been made via breeding. Once bred, the offspring are relocated to local habitats to thrive potentially. Currently, 160 of these Spix Macaws are being held in captivity to protect them from dying out.
In 2021, 52 parrots bred in captivity were relocated into habitats within Bahia, Brazil. 26 of these birds were males, whereas the other 26 were females. The German Association produced these birds for the Conservation of Threatened Parrots (ACTP). Because of its immense importance to biodiversity and wildlife conservation of Brazilian wildlife, the Brazilian government assisted in this process. The birds were initially held in reintroduction centers within the town of Curacao, located in Bahia, to accustom the macaws to such conditions. The Spix Macaw Release, Breeding, and Research Care Center (RBRC) was completed in mid-2019. The reintroduction process was mainly financed by ACTP, costing the organization nearly $1.4 million to construct the reintroduction center with an expected $180,000 per year to maintain such facilities that assist in this process. Much of this money is often sourced from donations from large companies like Deli Nature, a bird feed company.
As seen on the ACTP Website, they plan to follow a set course of action to have a better chance of success in their endeavors. The primary goal was to breed the macaws in captivity to grow the population. Once the population has grown to a significant amount, they would be reintroduced to the habitat. As expected, this goal was met with many challenges, mainly because of the limited genetic diversity and variation within the population of existing Spix Macaws. This issue of limited gene pools can be related to genetic drift and the bottleneck effect. The bottleneck effect is often seen in wildlife populations that have been significantly decreased and bred in captivity to increase the population. Through current research methods such as DNA gel electrophoresis, wildlife populations affected by this often have a minimal amount of allele or gene diversity.
Citations
“Spix’s Macaw Returns to Brazil, but Is Overshadowed by Controversy.” Mongabay Environmental News, 19 Mar. 2020, news.mongabay.com/2020/03/spixs-macaw-returns-to-brazil-but-is-overshadowed-by-controversy/.
“ACTP E.V.” ACTP, 2011, www.act-parrots.org/spixs-macaw/?lang=en.
“Spix’s Macaw First Bird Extinction This Decade.” BirdLife International, 5 Sept. 2018, www.birdlife.org/news/2018/09/05/spixs-macaw-heads-list-first-bird-extinctions-confirmed-this-decade/.
“Spix’s Macaw - Facts, Diet, Habitat & Pictures on Animalia.bio.” Animalia.bio, animalia.bio/spixs-macaw.
The luscious, blue ombre feathers of the illustrious Spix Macaw have mesmerized many for years. Many may recognize these birds from the famous movie Rio. Their growing popularity over the years has attracted much attention towards them. The Spix Macaw, otherwise known as Cyanopsitta spixii, is a parrot originating from Brazil. German naturalist Johann Baptist Ritter von Spix first discovered the majestic animal on his expedition to Brazil in 1819.
Little is known of their natural habitats as they occupy little space in the vast expanses of ornithological literature. These birds were spotted in nature in the state of Bahia of Brazil in the year 1986. Soon, these animals were captured and sold for very high prices to bidders in the US and Europe. This species of parrot has been considered extinct for many years. It was declared extinct in the wild in the year 2000. The many causes of this decline in the population of Spix Macaw include illegal trafficking of animals and the destruction of bird/animal habitats, caused mainly by human influence. Recently, efforts to restore the population of the Spix Macaw have been made via breeding. Once bred, the offspring are relocated to local habitats to thrive potentially. Currently, 160 of these Spix Macaws are being held in captivity to protect them from dying out.
In 2021, 52 parrots bred in captivity were relocated into habitats within Bahia, Brazil. 26 of these birds were males, whereas the other 26 were females. The German Association produced these birds for the Conservation of Threatened Parrots (ACTP). Because of its immense importance to biodiversity and wildlife conservation of Brazilian wildlife, the Brazilian government assisted in this process. The birds were initially held in reintroduction centers within the town of Curacao, located in Bahia, to accustom the macaws to such conditions. The Spix Macaw Release, Breeding, and Research Care Center (RBRC) was completed in mid-2019. The reintroduction process was mainly financed by ACTP, costing the organization nearly $1.4 million to construct the reintroduction center with an expected $180,000 per year to maintain such facilities that assist in this process. Much of this money is often sourced from donations from large companies like Deli Nature, a bird feed company.
As seen on the ACTP Website, they plan to follow a set course of action to have a better chance of success in their endeavors. The primary goal was to breed the macaws in captivity to grow the population. Once the population has grown to a significant amount, they would be reintroduced to the habitat. As expected, this goal was met with many challenges, mainly because of the limited genetic diversity and variation within the population of existing Spix Macaws. This issue of limited gene pools can be related to genetic drift and the bottleneck effect. The bottleneck effect is often seen in wildlife populations that have been significantly decreased and bred in captivity to increase the population. Through current research methods such as DNA gel electrophoresis, wildlife populations affected by this often have a minimal amount of allele or gene diversity.
Citations
“Spix’s Macaw Returns to Brazil, but Is Overshadowed by Controversy.” Mongabay Environmental News, 19 Mar. 2020, news.mongabay.com/2020/03/spixs-macaw-returns-to-brazil-but-is-overshadowed-by-controversy/.
“ACTP E.V.” ACTP, 2011, www.act-parrots.org/spixs-macaw/?lang=en.
“Spix’s Macaw First Bird Extinction This Decade.” BirdLife International, 5 Sept. 2018, www.birdlife.org/news/2018/09/05/spixs-macaw-heads-list-first-bird-extinctions-confirmed-this-decade/.
“Spix’s Macaw - Facts, Diet, Habitat & Pictures on Animalia.bio.” Animalia.bio, animalia.bio/spixs-macaw.
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