“I remember my grandfather telling me about the macaws in this region. So, it’s impossible not to smile seeing them back. We know where they sleep and feed, so every time we want to find them, we know where they are,” says biologist Humberto Mendes, a professor at the Federal University of Alfenas in Brazil’s Minas Gerais state. Alongside Donald Brightsmith, a professor at Texas A&M University (USA) and one of the world’s leading experts on Psittaciformes (parrots), and Chris Biro, considered an international reference in free-flight training for pet birds, the Brazilian led a project to reintroduce canindé macaws (Ara ararauna) in São Simão, in northwestern São Paulo state, Brazil, an area where the blue-and-yellow plumaged species used to exist in the past but became locally extinct more than 50 years ago. What is so pioneering about this release is the technique used: free flight with psittacines, never before employed in conservation programs. And, more than that, the excellent result obtained: a 100% success rate. “This result is absolutely wonderful! And I’m not exaggerating. I say that even though I’m a grumpy old scientist,” Brightsmith jokes as he celebrates the project’s success. Just over two years after the initial release of the six canindé macaws in 2022, all of them are still alive and showing great adaptation. And in that time, they have also been put through their paces, literally. They survived a fire that hit the region in the second half of 2024, when much of Brazil suffered…This article was originally published on Mongabay
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