Science
Recovery Of Brazil’s Spix’s Macaw, Popularized In Animated ‘Rio’ Films, Threatened By Climate Change
Curacao, Brazil — All Spix’s macaws are gloriously blue in the blazing sun of Brazil’s Northeast. Threats that had ravaged the Spix’s macaws persist, and the birds now confront a new threat: climate change. The species’ native range includes what has recently been classified as Brazil’s first arid climate region, but each bird is unique to Candice and Cromwell Purchase. As the parrots soar squawking by their house, the pair can easily distinguish bird No. 17 by its smooth feathers and No. 16 from No. 22, which has two beads attached to its radio collar.
This familiarity reveals the South African couple’s determination to save one of the world’s most severely endangered creatures. The parrot, already uncommon in the nineteenth century and restricted to a small portion of the Sao Francisco River basin, was declared extinct in the wild in 2000 when a single surviving male vanished after decades of hunting and habitat loss caused by livestock overgrazing. The few remaining birds were dispersed across private collections throughout the world.
Macaw | Pixa Bay Image
Recovery Of Brazil’s Spix’s Macaw, Popularized In Animated ‘Rio’ Films, Threatened By Climate Change
The Spix macaws, immortalized in the popular animated “Rio” flicks, have had a long, twisting, and rough road back from the brink of extinction.
“A dry area only receives rain for a brief portion of the year. “A drought in that period could last a year before you get your next rain,” said Purchase, a tall and thin 46-year-old. “The animals are acclimated to tough settings, yet they are at the brink. “Any small amount of change will decimate populations.”
In November, two federal research organizations published a study on rainfall water loss in plants and soil between 1960 and 2020. It demonstrated that northern Bahia state, including Curaca, where the Spix’s macaws are attempting to live, is now consistent with a desert environment. It also revealed the spread of a semi-arid climate in the Northeast, where almost 55 million people reside.
“If the globe warms, there will be a lot more evaporation. So, water escapes the environment and causes aridity,” Alexandre Pires, director of Brazil’s anti-desertification efforts, told The Associated Press.
Since 2005, Brazil’s semi-arid territory has expanded by 300,000 square kilometers (116,000 square miles), roughly the size of three Californias. The government plans to propose measures to prevent desertification in the region by supporting better soil and natural resource management.
Despite changing climates and countless hurdles, the Purchases have dedicated most of their adult lives to breeding Spix’s macaws and returning them into the wild. The biologists began their voyage by working with a private collection in an oasis in Qatar. When the birds were sold to a charity group, the couple relocated to Germany.
Over the last four years, their efforts have been concentrated in the rural area of Curaca, a nondescript hamlet of 34,000 inhabitants.
The Brazilian government and the German charity Association for the Conservation of Threatened Parrots reached an agreement in 2020 to send 52 Spix’s macaws to Brazil on two charter flights. Federal police led them to breeding and reintroduction facilities, accessible via a one-hour journey on a difficult country road and where the Purchases live and work for the NGO.
The following year, 20 Spix’s macaws were released into the wild, together with 15 wild-sourced Blue-Winged macaws, to “teach” them how to fly, avoid danger, and forage. Last year, two Spix’s macaw chicks were born in the wild for the first time in decades, but neither survived.
All released birds had radio collars, each containing an antenna to withstand macaws’ strong bills. The Purchases and their assistant monitor the birds’ locations thrice daily.
Macaw | Pixa Bay Image
Climate Change Endangers the Regeneration of Brazil’s Spix’s Macaw, a Popularity in Animated “Rio” Films
Half of Spix’s macaws have died, largely from predation, or vanished. The remaining ones now dwell within 5 kilometers (3 miles) of the facilities, which comprise a couple’s house and a 47-meter (51-yard)–long U-shaped flight and release cage.
Three more light pale blue chicks were hatched in the wild in March. Not only did they survive, but one flew for the first time last week, which was a significant accomplishment.
“This event is so important because it shows how comfortable the parents are in their wild environment,” Candice Purchase remarked via text message. “A remarkable achievement for the birds and an incredible success for the release.”
To minimize the effects of desertification, the German parrot organization collaborated with a private enterprise, Blue Sky Caatinga, to encourage planting 24,000 hectares (59,300 acres) in the Spix’s macaw region. This effort comprises small farmers who rely mainly on goat farming.
Unlike the depictions in the animated films “Rio” and “Rio 2,” which highlighted the Spix’s macaw extinction concern, the parrot’s natural home is distant from Brazil’s most famous city, Rio de Janeiro, and the Amazon rainforest. It dwells among the sparse, prickly, low caatinga vegetation, which frequently loses greens during dry spells. The bird also uses the Caraibeira, a towering evergreen tree that grows near small intermittent creeks, for nesting and feeding. During the breeding season, the trees let the pairs preserve energy by avoiding long flights to eat.
When the macaws came from Germany, they were provided various wild foods. “We found that it took a while for the birds to recognize them as food,” Purchase stated. “But the Caraibeira tree develops a seed pod that resembles helicopter seeds. The Spix family has never seen anything like that before. We put those in the cages, and some people picked them up and quickly knew how to open them and eat the kernel inside, which was amazing and surprised us.”
Macaw | Pixa Bay Image
Climate Change Endangers the Regeneration of Brazil’s Spix’s Macaw, a Popularity in Animated “Rio” Films
The project also faces problems outside of the natural environment. The federal government informed the organization on May 15 that it would cancel the arrangement, which was set to expire on June 5. According to the Associated Press, Brazil’s federal environmental regulator discovered that in 2023, the NGO relocated Spix’s macaws from its center in Germany to other nations without its consent. The deal will be extended once the matter is resolved, but the government has said the organization can continue its reintroduction efforts. International sources fund the initiative.
Troubled relations have halted plans to release 20 parrots per year for the next 20 years. “There will be no release in 2023, and it currently appears that a 2024 release is uncertain. “It would be a shame if the project failed due to government politics,” Purchase stated.
Over 360 Spix’s macaws are in captivity worldwide, with 46 in Curacao.
Despite the challenges, many Curaca locals, even those who have never seen a Spix’s macaw, expect them to return to flying over the region soon rather than only appearing in endless paintings that have become part of the city’s identity.
“The project is already successful. “They’re free,” remarked Maria de Lourdes Oliveira, whose family leased some of their land for reforestation. “The most challenging part was arriving in Brazil. I cried when I saw them flying to freedom and beating their wings.”
