The Worlds Rarest Bird - A Parrot

this story will cover from then to now and next all about change how to turn losers into winners in remote Brazil in 2000 the world's rarest bird just one left in the wild and you can't get rarer than that this parrot Spix's macaw that makes a fascinating story up to now but we start in Tenerife in the Canary Ana's thousands of miles away from that tiny patch of trees in Brazil the world's parrot experts and enthusiasts gather to discuss parents and their future Spix's macaw is high on the agenda a major talking point at Laura party for here on the Canary Islands in the western Atlantic is one of the parent centers of the world every four years its host to some 800 para people a few of whom hold the future of the distant Spix's macaw in their hands they come from the USA the Philippines Australia South Africa Brazil in fact the sort of variety of countries inhabited by wild parents themselves then of course their distribution as captives and pets is enormous and one of the centers concerned with that is also Laurel Park that's where everybody's heading for a four-day parent talking with the parents join in to at the loro Parque foundation office Spix's macaws are everywhere as a symbol and a Logan the real Birds back in Brazil and elsewhere need all the help they can get [Music] Spix's macaw symbolizes the plight of parrots worldwide as Eve de soie scientific director knows only too well as well as fixes there are the other blue macaws hyacinth Leah's and Glaucus the Glaucus is now thought to be extinct from the archives a sad skin of a species that man eliminated in the recent past also gone is the Carolina parakeet once numbered in millions in the USA last one seen in 1926 and a number of parakeets from Pacific and Indian Ocean islands several other macaws species are currently close to extinction and the Cuban macaw is already gone the last one shot in 1864 so what's the future for the three surviving blue macaws from left to right hyacinth least rare the Glaucus extinct the Leah's going going and the little specks nearly gone [Music] will it follow the glaucous into extinction you can't get rarer than one cannula in other wetter forests of Brazil lives the Communists bloom are called the hyacinth but it's hardly abundant as with all the macaws they've suffered from damage to their home and the stealing of chicks and adults for the pet trade they sometimes make endearing pets attractive in the shop but in many homes around the world they become lonely desperate birds and when they're taken from the wild the species suffers so at the moment the hyacinth macaw might be going the way of this Pixies the scarlet macaw perhaps the most famous of these big parrots is also in trouble the same reasons as the others again the pet trade has a lot to answer for often that line up in the pet shop is death row of birds taken from the wild their rainforest home and them at home in it our tourist attractions in Costa Rica Brazil Peru and elsewhere some are now being protected with that in mind but the pressures on their habitat and on themselves is still intense in the admiring crowd is rosemary Lowe the author of the book on Lori's all 53 species of them and with her is Larson leper of another concerned parrot enthusiast from Switzerland and on both their minds is that one one and only male Spix's macaw out there in Brazil to the dazzling mark also South America this is the blue-throated macaw a rare one from Bolivia playful yes but its plate is not so amusing it's a critically endangered species it has a lot in common with Spix's doing the 1980s it was heavily trapped for the live bird trade leaving only a small number of birds judge to be in the region of a hundred unlike its smaller cousin however captive numbers are high and it breeds readily and another rarity the red fronted also from Bolivia also in danger with their brilliant plumage and they're amusing behavior no wonder one and a half million tourists a year flocked to Laurel parking to see them close up the birds look good there and have a pretty free lifestyle they may well lead more stimulating lives watching the people passing by and there's a good supply of admirers who come for a day out to this very very display of animals and plants so much for these attractions in Tenerife but what about that lonely Spix's macaw far away in Brazil to try to help him the conference organisers are preparing a display they want to show what's being done to try to save the world's rarest bird in the wild SOS save our [ __ ] the displace are taken to the main meeting hall where soon everyone will gather to discuss the future of the world's parrots among much other parrot business [Music] but Spix's macaw will be the star of the show linked from here at Laura [ __ ] to a small town in Brazil but first the grand opening 800 participants parrot people all with that interest in common like the british-based world parrot trust some tensions perhaps between those who collect parrots and those who want them to stay in the wild species is part of that mix of opinion and argument a controversial figure astride all this is for Frankie sling a German parrot enthusiast who started loro Parque in 1972 and is a powerful influence both here and abroad they know his reputation they'll soon know what's being done about Spix's lessons of miles away in Brazil it's very different the vegetation is not lush it's not warm it's extremely hot and over grazed what trees still exist maybe the last individuals to survive their seeds will fall on barren ground to be eaten by desperate livestock [Music] but what's this got to do with the world's rarest bird how do ghosts affect Spix's macaw [Music] why does this man and his aspirations for a better life and better things threaten the future of a lonely male parrot [Music] the parrot seems helpless but not completely in the small town of Curacao the sign welcomes you to the home of the air arena as ooh the local name for the Spix's macaw in the town square there's a clear link to Tenerife the theater has been renovated with many pesetas from Spanish Tenerife from Laurel parking for the air arena asou this is an exception in what is one of the poorest driest parts of Brazil but amazingly a great river the Salle Francisco flows nearby the waters reach little of the surrounding land however and it's along the tributaries that the [ __ ] saga unfolds the are Aranea assault rescue team is led by Yarra borrows from town the landscape is desolate and dry a vast expanse of scrub she's heading for those trees along the tributary the last refuge of the specs this is not him no way he's another back in Laurel Park tenerife he's one of a small group of captive spaces around the world which might might just enable the species to continue to exist like all parrots he's observant curious watchful and he's being watched by closed-circuit TV he's a valuable property well guarded behind the scenes at Laurel parking whether the few Birds kept here will contribute to a global breeding pool to save the species remains to be seen at the conference nearby the specs message is being put across in no uncertain terms the visitors see that the theater has gone ahead with money from here the difficulty is often maintaining support and interest for a long and risky effort like this and that's true at both ends of the project others might be more interested in different aspects of the parrot business it's a virtual industry you might say and addiction and when the addiction focuses on one species say of Spix's the trouble really starts like a rare diamond some people become desperate to have it and they may be rich and powerful enough to succeed as the wild population collapses captive breeding becomes the last resort and with some species it's a special skill in itself that's certainly true of the apparently doomed specks perhaps only to survive on a t-shirt breeders here compare notes on the latest techniques and equipment maybe some little trick will get the pair going but only that wild bird knows about life in the wild he has the answers as long as he lives captive breeding is a vital backup and so is raring a human society that understands these problems visiting school children find out how chicks are bred but also more importantly how the species lives in the wild how it relates to its habitat and that's crucial in the case of Spix's macaw hopefully this investment in education will result in a better future for all parrots as part of living systems [Music] [Music] they have certain requirements or these things they relish like a shark up to a point that is plenty of things to do places to go the species that particularly concerns Lauro parking is Spix's macaw it was discovered by austrian naturalist johann baptist von [ __ ] when he shot one in 1819 it was probably never common in its native habitats here in the dry scrubland of northeastern brazil shooting didn't help but since its discovery its decline has been hastened by trapping and grazing by goats sheep and cattle in a poor region more livestock may mean more income to buy that motorbike or whatever more animals less vegetation Yaris research team has come here on a very special day normally people keep well away from the [ __ ] using the hide in the distance you can see the pair but there's only supposed to be one the male he's actually had to pair up with a female of another species illness or blue winged macaw are much smaller species a local farmer has dedicated himself to this project and knows this odd couple intimately his help is essential today as they move to the nest tree by the river it's here where these particular trees still survive that the Spicks has hung on it needs them but grazing animals prevent any regeneration as the core area became more restricted by increasing livestock the [ __ ] has become vulnerable to prosecution to trapping the rarer it became the more certain individuals craved to own one this very extreme form of the palate pet trade this may look like that sort of activity but it's exactly the opposite they're placing elegance macaw eggs in the nest whole of the mixed pair and taking out the ones she's laid could they be Fanta well yes at least one was but it did not have in the meantime the Brazilian biologists will see if the pair can successfully rear a family if they do perhaps next time they lay the team will swap Spix's X from captive birds somewhere that's the plan will it work back to the farmers house they discuss the plan over 100 families of local ranch workers have been checking on the famous pair they're known as Spix's Cowboys it seems a far cry from this poorer over grazed place with so many cattle and just one blue macaw to the green gardens of Laurel Park and those well-meaning and determined parrot enthusiasts they've been trying for years to save the species and it's become a parrot soap opera the Spix's macaw has become a symbol of rarity if such a rare creature can be saved maybe there's some hope for the rest of the world's endangered wildlife but the effort and complications are daunting Tony Pittman from England has his own blue macaw web site and makes his own films yeah he's feeding a young male specks its favorite fruit from the local tree by the river [Music] Tony's film shows just how agile and dexterous parents can be in 1995 this boat was lent by her Brazilian as orientation for a female that had been released here as a potential mate for the lonely male out in the wild this young male inside the cage provided company for the female and her story turned out to be quite a drama she might have formed the perfect pair enabling the local knowledge and skills of the male to be continued to future generations but it was not to be the efforts had been impressive the big aviary built in 1995 with loro Parque foundation money contained the right food trees and the female had spent over seven months in there preparing for her release [Music] [Music] the researchers monitored her for two months after release and she seemed to get on well with the nail though they later roosted apart but then disaster she disappeared an important Centre in Brazil from macaw conservation has been são Paulo zoo it's not an easy country in which to protect birds of any sort especially rare ones which could earn some extra cash people here see animals differently than they do in the USA or Europe toys food animals are usable items in a poor society spending money and a lot of it on saving a rare bird would seem crazy much better to get it and sell it so the pet trade the sort of problem faced by those trying to protect rare parrots likes Pixies with a huge price on its head and these Liris macaws of the three species of blue macaws surviving today Lear's is the second rarest after the Spix's will it go the same way for the same reasons in 1990 Spix's macaws held by the Brazilians and others around the world could be entered into a globally managed population six years later any undeclared birds would be confiscated if found that is meanwhile the other blue macaws hyacinth and Lear's continued to decline perhaps heading the same way as Spix's their nest trees were easy targets either poachers climbed up or maybe cut the whole tree down perhaps spoiling a traditional nesting site the demand from across the world for parrots seemed insatiable animal traffic has now become the biggest illegal business after drugs and parrots feature high on the list of desirable animals poachers steal the chicks by cutting into the nest cavity and they're off to the local trader then the exporter and ultimately to the pet shop or collector or perhaps not now artificial protected nest boxes are being put up where macaws survive for example here in Costa Rica where the country's president himself joined in the specs was brought to its numerical knees finally by human greed it remains the example conservationists look to when they discuss the future of the world's parrots and what is happening to the planet they and we inhabit they have a traditional nest hole but then they moved to an area which was more accessible to people and difficult to warden so the scientists blocked up that hole which brought them back to this area where they've nested again but will be unique knowledge the spec's has will that be passed on to his chicks if any the few trees are still standing but the goats are still eating and breeding a new Spix's macaws school is built the renovated theater shows palette puppets and the people are proud of their bird that's become so famous especially that female released for the mail in March 1995 what next the project out there with the cattle and goat problem yana briefs her team at the field station their funding and support from abroad and their own country of brazil is critical politically it can be tricky who owns these birds who's in charge the fate of a whole species lies in the hands of a few and these belong to a biologist who's helping with the next stage of the project to save the bird in the wild by radio tracking at the big aviary the reintroduction facility captive hatched eligos macaws the same species as the Spix's males mate were brought in from loro Parque in Tenerife a total of nine were later released to the wild and tracked by radio the idea is that it's a rehearsal for possible later release of the more valuable captive reared Spix's remember they'll have no knowledge of the place the food or the Predators only the one wild male spec's has that time perhaps to summarize this soap opera plant li from a parrot's point of view and to update it the lonely male mates with a different small green elegance macaw that's all there is and they seemed fine one day he gets a surprise another more his type turns up is released nearby and they get on well but the previous other species mate is still around it's a parrot triangle the honeymoon lasts a month and then the new female specs disappears found dead by a cow herder and only revealed much later afraid to say at the time for fear the project might stop back with his original immigrants mate they find a good home but then have to move and all the while they notice more people around [Music] some visited their home it was a disturbing day to cut a long story short life got tougher it is more difficult to find food had to fly further for it and more people and more animals appeared so this was the way it went a species reduced originally by trapping but then helped by international efforts dedicated farmers and biologists but eventually threatened by the gradual attrition of the landscape by livestock put there by man and then at about 19 years old the male specs disappeared forever announced in December 2000 it was the end of that bird the end of an era the species was extinct in the wild but there is still hope elsewhere far from Brazil in Switzerland Roland Meza is an architect he designs houses and loves parents especially Spix's macaws he's on his way home through the snowy Swiss countryside to his very special collection of tropical birds black swans from Australia on ice the place is well protected the parrots that roland has acquired are valuable and in particular the Spix's since the death of the wild male in Brazil his group have been even more important he got them from another Swiss breeder for a lot of money but their true value to the species is their potential to breed the future for the Spix's macaw is in the hands of just a few individuals there are now about 60 birds in captivity here in Switzerland in loro Parque and Tenerife in the Philippines and a few in Brazil they've now been bred in captivity in Brazil and now here in Switzerland the first check in this group and they keep on coming from then to now and on and winning and a fantastic surprise a single [ __ ] glimpsed on camera phone video by two local girls there was great excitement back at the school could it have been released or escaped the Creek has been bought by parrot enthusiasts from abroad livestock removed the vegetation is growing back [Music] so from around the world Brazil Spain Germany to Qatar the United Arab Emirates help and more spits chips are on their way [Music] hopefully this rarest of birds will make a comeback there's a lot of help from their friends [Music]

Channel: brockinitiative

Views: 7,654

Rating: 4.7037039 out of 5

Keywords: The Worlds Rarest Bird A Parrot, The Worlds Rarest Bird, A Parrot, Worlds, Rarest, Bird, Parrot, Wildlife, Winners and Losers, Winners, Losers, Brock Initiative, Spix Macaw, Spix's Macaw, Macaw, Spix, Spix's, Brazil, Brazillian, South America, Blue parrot, Extinction, Wild, Captive, Captive Spix Macaw, Wild Spix Macaw, Conservation, Curaca, Rare, Ornithology

Id: K3sPkKQeKNE

Length: 32min 1sec (1921 seconds)

Published: Thu Sep 28 2017