IBAMA PRESS RELEASE: 18 DECEMBER 2002

Editor's Note and Background Information: 

This is the second time that IBAMA has distributed this notice that a Spix's macaw from the US was to be returned to Brazil. This time it really happened! The World Parrot Trust was instrumental in this as it had been approached by the owner and it was able to arrange for the prompt transfer. The US Fish and Wildlife Service arranged the permits and supported the effort to get him repatriated to Brazil. Congratulations to all!

This is important as this is actually the first Spix's macaw to be "found" that is outside of the original legal birds (and their descendants) that became part of the Spix's macaw program initiated by the now disbanded Committee for the Recovery of the Spix's Macaw, formed by IBAMA in 1990. The amnesty designed by that committee was supposed to address exactly this type of situation where a bird is maintained "underground". Unfortunately not a single individual took advantage of the amnesty offer. 

It is a pity that this bird could not have been incorporated into the original breeding program as it could have been part of a potentially reproductive group for over ten years, while he was still relatively young. He is estimated to be over 25 years of age, is feather picked and quite tame as it was held as a pet. 

A concern is that this IBAMA press release states that he was  "presented" to the collective media at 10 am, only a few hours after arrival in Brazil.  This type of publicity would never have been allowed in the past as this bird would have left its home of 25 years and traveled from Denver to Miami and then to Sao Paulo. However, the same public relations staging was also done with the return of the female Spix's Macaw from Loro Parque a few months earlier. (Please see Editor's Note).

Now the task will be to find an appropriate mate for this bird, as one is not available in the current captive population in the Brazilian controlled breeding program. It is certain that this can be achieved through cooperation with the private sector. 

It is hard to believe that it has taken this long to locate of the fabled "underground" birds. 

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Spix's Macaw found in the United States arrives in São Paulo

São Paulo (18.12.02) - A Spix's macaw coming from the United States arrives on this day 23/12, at 07h15 am on flight RG 8819 - in the International Airport of Guarulhos, in São Paulo. This is the second bird of this species repatriated to Brazil this year and it will integrated into the Recovery Program of the Spix's Macaw, coordinated by IBAMA. At 10 am, the executive director of IBAMA in the State of São Paulo, Wilson Lima, the coordinator of Protection of Species of Fauna of IBAMA, Carlos Bianchi, and the director of the São Paulo Zoological Park, Paulo Bressan, will present the Spix's macaw and will give explanations on the agreement that allowed the repatriation of this bird to Brazil.

The existence of the Spix's macaw was only communicated to IBAMA in August of this year by US Fish and Wildlife Service, that investigates the probably illegal origin of the bird. The Spix's macaw, considered extinct in the nature, has a restricted population of  54 captive individuals in some countries. The last wild representative of the species disappeared two years ago in the hinterland of Bahia, the only region of the world where the species occurs. In Brazil, there are currently six Spix's macaws: two in the zoo of São Paulo and four in the Criadouro Conservacionista Chaparral, Recife.

This seventh Spix's macaw in the Brazilian program will be submitted to a quarantine in the zoo of São Paulo so that the scholars can evaluate its physical condition. The bird is approximately 25 years old, is a male and, theoretically, still can reproduce. Because of the high degree of danger of extinction of these birds, the specialists of the Recovery Program of the Spix's Macaw minutely study the possibilities of mating between the remaining individuals.

The marriages (pairings) are defined by genetic studies of each bird and with the aid of computer programs. Then it only is that the complex work of management  is initiated as is occurring at this moment in the Criadouro Chaparral, where a couple of Spix's macaws coexists since the month of September in the hope of that they can reproduce. The reproduction in captivity already occurs successfully in Brazil. The hope of the scientists is to compose a genetically viable population for reintroduction to the wild. 

The collective press conference will be carried through in the next Monday (23), at 10am in the theater of the São Paulo Zoological Park. 

Translated by N. Schischakin 19/12/2002

Original Press Release from IBAMA ,18 December 2002:

Chega a São Paulo a ararinha-azul encontrada nos Estados Unidos

São Paulo (18.12.02) - Chega no dia 23/12, às 07h15 - vôo RG 8819 - no Aeroporto Internacional de Guarulhos, em São Paulo, uma ararinha-azul vinda dos Estados Unidos. Trata-se da segunda ave dessa espécie repatriada este ano para o Brasil e que deverá integrar o Programa de Recuperação da Ararinha-Azul, coordenado pelo Ibama. Às 10 horas, o gerente-executivo do Ibama no Estado de São Paulo, Wilson Lima, o coordenador de Proteção de Espécies da Fauna do Ibama, Carlos Bianchi, e o diretor da Fundação Parque Zoológico de São Paulo, Paulo Bressan, apresentarão a ararinha-azul e darão explicações sobre o acordo que permitiu o deslocamento da ave para o Brasil.

A existência da ararinha só foi comunicada ao Ibama em agosto deste ano pelo Serviço de Pesca e Vida Selvagem - U.S Fish and Wildlife Service, que investiga a origem provavelmente ilegal da ave. A ararinha-azul, considerada extinta na natureza, tem sua população restrita a 54 indivíduos cativos em vários países. O último representante selvagem da espécie desapareceu há dois anos no sertão da Bahia, única região do mundo onde ocorre a espécie. No Brasil, existem atualmente seis ararinhas azuis: duas no zoológico de São Paulo e quatro no Criadouro Conservacionista Chaparral, em Recife.

A sétima ararinha do plantel brasileiro será submetida a um período de quarentena no zoológico de São Paulo para que os estudiosos avaliem suas condições físicas. A ave tem aproximadamente 25 anos, é um macho e, teoricamente, ainda pode se reproduzir. Devido ao altíssimo grau de ameaça de extinção dessas aves, os especialistas ligados ao Programa de Recuperação da Ararinha-Azul estudam minuciosamente as possibilidades de cruzamento entre os indivíduos remanescentes.

Os casamentos são definidos partir de estudos genéticos de cada ave e com o auxílio de programas de computador. Só então é que inicia-se o complexo trabalho de manejo como o que ocorre neste momento no Criadouro Chaparral, onde um casal de ararinhas convive desde o mês de setembro na esperança de que possa se reproduzir. A reprodução em cativeiro já ocorre com sucesso no Brasil. A esperança dos cientistas é compor uma população geneticamente viável para a reintrodução na vida selvagem.

Coletiva - A entrevista coletiva será realizada na próxima segunda-feira (23), às 10h, no anfiteatro da Fundação Parque Zoológico de São Paulo (Avenida Miguel Stéfano 4241, Água Funda).

Informações: IBAMA – SP / Ascom (11) 3066-2656