Expansion of Bolivian reserve boosts blue-throated macaw

A few years ago, the blue-throated macaw (Ara glaucogularis) was headed the way of extinct species like the dodo and the Colombian grebe. Trappers pursued the critically endangered, large blue and yellow parrot for the immense profits to be earned on the international pet market. Indigenous people hunted it to adorn their headdresses with feathers. And the rapid expansion of cattle ranching in the savannas of Bolivia’s Beni department, where the bird is endemic, destroyed nesting trees and the Motacu palms which serve as a principal source of food. By 2007, the estimated population of the bird numbered no more than 300 individuals and the species seemed destined to vanish into world history. That is why environmentalists celebrated on Dec. 30, when Asociación Armonía... [Log in to read more]

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