I recently returned from Brazil, an incredible country, and the largest and most populous in South America. It is widely diverse and multicultural, and home to an enormous number of parrot species.
Unfortunately, much of South America is experiencing high fire rates, especially Brazil. I personally saw fires along the road, and there was an omnipresent haze everywhere we traveled. NASA’s global fire information map shows the extent of the current fires. We know how sensitive our birds are to respiratory toxins, that’s why they used to use canaries in coal mines to detect poisonous gases.
The parrots of Brazil are now suffering the same fate when smokey air starts to overtax their breathing. Or worst case, they are caught in the fires without a chance to escape. This is the time of year when many parrot species are beginning to build their nests and lay eggs, making the fire and smoke problem exponentially more damaging to the important breeding season.
Rebuilding After Fires
Image courtesy Instituto Araras Azul
Image courtesy of Instituto Araras Azul
A couple of years ago I wrote about the incredible work of Neiva Guedes and her team at Instituto Arara Azul, bringing the hyacinth macaw back from the brink of extinction. Every time we visit Brazil, I make sure to visit with Neiva and learn about the Institute’s continuing progress and good works. Her team has expanded its reach by placing more next boxes in a widening geographic area, thus giving the hyacinths an increased chance to thrive and repopulate.
However, the fires continue to return to some areas most populated by hyacinth macaws like Sāo Francisco do Perigara (home to 15% of the hyacinth population) and the Refugio Ecologico Caimen. These are places where the Institute has seen some of its greatest successes with breeding and repopulation. But, as the globe continues to warm, these exquisite blue macaws face new and unprecedented threats. Helping the Instituto Arara Azul replace nest boxes lost to the fires is the best thing we can all do to help.
Image courtesy Instituto Araras Azul
This month’s Lafeber donation goes to assisting the Instituto of Arara Azul with resources needed to recover from fires and assist in bringing parrots such as the hyacinth back to prosperity in the Pantanal. You can also help. To make a donation, go to: https://www.institutoararaazul.org.br/arara-azul-biologia-e-ameacas/