THE Release of eight Spix’s Macaws today (11), in an area of environmental preservation in the interior of Bahia, took place successfully. The birds were brought to Brazil from Germany and Belgium two years ago with the aim of reintroducing the species into the environment.
The Spix’s Macaw was discovered in 1819 and suffered a gradual process of extinction in the wild. The last known individual, a male, disappeared in 2000, thus decreeing the extinction of the species in the wild.
The coordinator of the National Action Plan for the Conservation of the Spix’s Macaw, Antonio Eduardo Barbosa, explained how the preparations were made for the birds to be released. For release, the macaws underwent training.
“They were put together to have a more harmonious coexistence. There was a flight training process [com fortalecimento da musculatura] and the ability to interact with the food they will find in nature”, he said.
According to Barbosa, they also underwent “strict health assessment” to check if they had any disease that could put animals in the wild at risk.
