That Bird Blog – Bird Care and History for Pet Birds
The animated movie Rio tells the story of the last 2 “Blue Macaws” on earth, and their adventurous efforts to save their species from extinction. The touching yet realistic conservation story has captivated adults and children alike, and the movie posted ticket sales of $40,000,000 on its first weekend…a record for this year. Many fans may not realize that a real endangered species – the Spix’s Macaw, Cyanopsitta spixii, and a real individual bird – Presely, inspired director Carlos Saldanba to create the movie.
Extinct in the Wild
The Spix’s Macaw became extinct in the wild in the year 2000, when the last known male disappeared. He left no purebred offspring as, lacking a female Spix’s Macaw, he had mated with a Blue-Winged Macaw.
The ashy to brilliant blue Spix’s Macaw dwelled only in a tiny area of northeastern Brazil, where it was limited to a dry-scrub habitat dominated by Caatinga Trees (please see photo). Although there are no more wild Spix’s Macaws, plans are being made to reintroduce them to Brazil in time, and local schools are actively involved in the process (please see article below).
Seventy-one Spix’s Macaws are known to exist in captivity, with an estimated 50 additional individuals possibly being kept but not registered with conservation authorities.
The USA’s Only Spix’s Macaw
Presely is a male Spix’s Macaw that came to light in the year 2002. Believed to be the only Spix’s Macaw in the USA, Presely was being kept as a pet in Colorado (please see article below for photos).
His existence became known via a call by his owner to a veterinarian’s office; the person who answered the call realized the significance of such a bird, and followed up by visiting the owner. Presely is approximately 25 years old, and has spent most of his life in a cage. The recent death of his companion, an Amazon Parrot, had depressed him and his owner was concerned for his health.
Presely Returns to Brazil
After months of negotiations, and with the help of the World Parrot Trust, Presely found a new home at Brazil’s Sao Paulo Zoo, and from there was transferred to a breeding program. It is hoped that he will pair-up with a female Spix’s Macaw and reproduce. However, as parrot-owners well know, this can be tricky, so Presely’s DNA will also be preserved so that he can in that way contribute to the survival of his species.
Further Reading
Planning for the Spix’s Macaw’s Return to the Wild
Photos and story of Presley, the Macaw that inspired the movie Rio.
Video: Spix macaw Breeding Center
Spixara image referenced from wikipedia and originally posted by Robert01
Caatinga image referenced from wikipedia and originally posted by Allan Patrick
Rio being high on my kids “still to see” video list, I can now even ad more interest to this when we will take a look!
Once again I am glad that there are at least 71 captured Spix!!! (you mentioned they became extinct in 2000, but that would be ONLY in the wild…???)
Any how, I presume belonging to the parrot family, the Spix is an flocking bird as well??? Obviously that would make releasing them back to wild even more difficult!
So a BIG thanxzzz comes from me to the people involving in such difficult missions!!!!
Hello Gert, Frank Indiviglio here.
Thanks for the kind words. Yes, they are apparently extinct in the wild; re-introductions are as you say very difficult. Their social structure varies with seasons, from pairs to family groups to flocks, and mate choice is always a problem with parrots (well, a problem for us “matchmakers” , not for them!). There are earlier studies so I think the basic knowledge is there, but putting it into effect is another matter.
I hope you and yours enjoy!
Best regards, Frank Indiviglio.
It was extremely to send the bird to zoo in Brazil, as their breeding facilities failed to breed A SINGLE SPIX’S MACAW.
Get this through your mind : zoo staff are not qualified to breed spix’s macaws.
You can’t consider this a wise decision.
Presley’s genetic make-up is CRUCIAL for that brid that might just stop existing because there’s a limit to what point you can breed cousins, brothers and sisters togheter for generations and generations.
Way to ruin a great opportunity by sending the bird to the worst facility. It would have been much better in Quatar, at least they manage to get chicks.
This isn’t good news for anyone familiar with the spix’s macaw conservation efforts. The bird was took from a place he would not breed and sent to another place he won’t breed at. Pathetic.
Hello, Frank Indiviglio here.
Thanks for your interest in our blog. The Brazilian government is of necessity involved in this project, and has some say in the disposition of its native birds; the zoo cooperates with interested institutions by transferring birds to other facilities in order to increase genetic diversity. With such a small number in captivity, housing individuals in multiple locations ensures against major losses that can occur via earthquake, fire, disease etc. Of course, breeding must be encouraged, but holders of this species can assist in other ways – building local support for future releases, education, reserve populations etc. If an individual’s DNA is found to be vital to the program, I believe mechanisms are in place to assure that it, or its genetic material, will be put to appropriate use. Please see this post by the specie’s International Studbook Keeper for further comments.
Best regards, Frank Indiviglio.
Hello, Frank Indiviglio here.
Thanks for your interest in our blog. The Brazilian government is of necessity involved in this project, and has some say in the disposition of its native birds; the zoo cooperates with interested institutions by transferring birds to other facilities in order to increase genetic diversity. With such a small number in captivity, housing individuals in multiple locations ensures against major losses that can occur via earthquake, fire, disease etc. Of course, breeding must be encouraged, but holders of this species can assist in other ways – building local support for future releases, education, reserve populations etc. If an individual’s DNA is found to be vital to the program, I believe mechanisms are in place to assure that it, or its genetic material, will be put to appropriate use. Please see this post by the specie’s International Studbook Keeper for further comments.
Best regards, Frank Indiviglio.
Considering that Qatar has been having great advances in the reproduction of Spix Macaws and have also been achieving success through artificial insemination he should have gone there or his sperm should be collected and sent to Qatar to add to the population their and all of the males sperm located in Brazil or other countries should be collected since Qatar is flipping the bill for a reintroduction plan to a know area where they have existed and bought the ranch where they were located and restoring the habitat back to the palms that were once plentiful there. Also since private avian culture has been more productive in producing rare species than zoos.
Hello,
Thanks for your input; I believe the World parrot trust link within the article leads to further info on the very interesting effort based in Qatar. I’ve worked on a variety of zoo-private conservation efforts(from zoo side) and the potential is great, esp given the lack of space in zoos, fact that zoos must take visitors/donors wishes into account, financial resources of certain private individuals, etc. Unfortunately, the red tape, legalities, political considerations and so on greatly complicate the process. Of course, zoos have breed a great many species that never appear in private aviculture , the question of the relative success of the various groups is far too complicated to cover properly here. best, Frank