The Year To Remember Rio - Endangered Species Day 2021
Rio
Anyone remember Rio?
Well, perhaps we should?
For those who don’t, Rio was a children’s animated movie released in 2011. It tells the story of Blu, a flightless Spix Macaw who discovers he must travel all the way to Rio De Janeiro to save his species. There, he meets a female Spix Macaw, Jewel. The two eventually fall in love, and together they have to escape from being smuggled.
Well, it’s loosely based on a true story - the Spix Macaw disappeared from the wild around 20 years ago. The species was pushed to extinction in the wild through poaching and the illicit wildlife trade, but also destruction of their habitat.
Loss Of Habitat
The Spix Macaw inhabited just one single region in the world, the Brazilian Caatinga. This semi-arid half-desert is located in the north-east of Brazil in Bahia, along the Rio San Francisco river.
The habitat, which was characterised by shrubland, thorny vegetation and flat, dry moors along seasonal waterways, was transformed into agricultural areas. Overgrazing by goats and cows led to degradedation of the vegetation, and the loss of the valuable Caraibeira (Silver Trumpet Trees) which provided food and nesting for the Spix Macaw.
Condemed to Extinction
With the species condemned to disappear forever, Sheikh Saoud Bin Mohammed Bin Ali Thani, who had transformed his father’s once hobby farm into a centre for the preservation of endangered species, Al Wabra Wildlife Preservation in Qatar, made a last attempt to save the Spix Macaw. To preserve the genetic pool and secure a future for this rare species, he gathered together a few dozen Spix’s Macaws that were being kept by private individuals around the world.
With the help of a dedicated scientist team, specialist veterinary support and a carefully managed breeding programme, led by ACTP, the Association for the Conservation of Threatened Parrots, Spix Macaw numbers reached 180 individuals in 2020.
ACTP have been working for several years with Al Wabra (AWWP), Jurong Bird Park (Singapore), Parrots International (PI), and the Brazilian Ministry of the Environment (ICMBio) on an international collaboration to save the Spix Macaw. Joined recently by Pairi Daiza, as an additional centre for breeding, the population was deemed to be sufficiently strong to dare to undertake an unprecedented challenge: the reintroduction of a bird species extinct in the wild, into its original habitat.
Protected Habitat For The Spix Macaw
On the 5th of June 2018, during World Environment Day, the former President of Brazil, Michel Temer, signed a decree to provide a wildlife refuge and environmental protected area that spans 120,000 hectares in the state of Bahia, Brazil.
The Brazilian authorities have since been working to restore the former degraded habitat of the Spix Macaw within an area of the newly protected reserve. Measures such as installation of fences to protect the vegetation from grazing by goats and cows and management of non-native tree species.
Water-slowing devices have been implemented, which have enabled the Caraibeira trees, vital to the Spix Macaws for food and shelter, to become re-established.
Rehabilitation
On the 3 March 2020, the first 52 Spix Macaws were transported a distance of 5680 miles, from Berlin to a purpose-built rehabilitation centre in Brazil. Being raised in captivity means the Spix Macaws face many challenges in order to be re-introduced into the wild. This is why a ‘buddy system’ has been adopted, to give them the best possible chance.
They have been buddied with Blue-Winged (Illinger) Macaws, seasoned residents of the Caatinga, who will teach them how to find food and hide from predators (eagles and hawks). The Spix Macaw will also need time to adjust to the new climate before they are released back into the area they once inhabited.
Education & Raising Awareness
As a symbolic start of a major educational project sponsored by partners of the Spix's Macaw release and breeding program, 7000 children in the neaby town of Curaçá, received t-shirts on the day of arrival of the first 52 Spix Macaws.
In order to increase awareness for this project, Azul Brazilian Airlines commissioned a new Embraer E195-E2, sporting new livery depicting 3 Spix Macaws on each side of the fuselage.
Local Biodiversity
The Spix Macaw project is important for the biodiversity of the Caatinga. According to the Rainforest Alliance, who is helping to raise funds for land purchase in this region, other birds in the region include the colorful Blue-winged Macaw and the Vulnerable turkey-like White-browed Guan. Twenty-nine species of mammals also live in the area, including two vulnerable species, the Northern Tiger Cat and the Brazilian Three-Banded Armadillo. At least 18 species of amphibians also occur in the area (around one-third of the species known for the entire caatinga region), including two species of frogs that may be new to science.
What Does The Future Hold For The Spix Macaw?
For the people of Curaçá and Brazil, the Spix Macaw is an important symbol of their culture. For the rest of us, it represents the fragility of our wildlife. For the Spix Macaws, 2021 represents a new beginning and another fight for survival.
Although the future of the Spix Macaw currently lies in the hands of the partnerships working tirelessly to preserve this iconic species, ultimately, it’s future survival rests with us.
