{"id":5060,"date":"2017-01-19T00:33:28","date_gmt":"2017-01-19T00:33:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.loroparque.com\/?p=5060&lang=en"},"modified":"2024-11-15T16:45:13","modified_gmt":"2024-11-15T16:45:13","slug":"a-new-hope-for-the-blue-throated-macaw","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.loroparque.com\/en\/a-new-hope-for-the-blue-throated-macaw\/","title":{"rendered":"A new hope for the Blue-throated Macaw"},"content":{"rendered":"

Original article: A new hope for the Blue-throated Macaw<\/a><\/p>\n

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The discovery of a new roosting site for Blue-throated Macaw Ara glaucogularis coupled with an innovative and successful programme geared towards promoting the use of artificial feathers in ceremonial headdresses, gives renewed hope for the survival of this charismatic parrot.<\/p>\n

The Blue-throated Macaw is one of South America\u2019s rarest parrots, with a population estimated at around 250 individuals. In the last decade, Asociaci\u00f3n Armon\u00eda (BirdLife Partner in Bolivia) has been tackling the main threats affecting it: habitat loss, the lack of breeding sites and ending illegal poaching. But their approach to ending the latter has been especially unique and very successful: to give locals an alternative to using real macaw feathers for their headdresses.<\/p>\n

During their traditional celebrations, the inhabitants of the Moxe\u00f1o plains in Bolivia\u2019s Beni department perform with colourful headdresses as they move to the rhythm of bongos and flutes. The dancers, so-called macheteros, dedicate their movements and attire to the colours of nature. Unfortunately, those headdresses are made of macaw tail feathers from four different species, including the Blue-throated Macaw.<\/p>\n

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This is where Armon\u00eda\u2019s Alternative Feather Programme comes in; it consists of an educational campaign promoting the use of artificial feathers made of organic materials among the macheteros through workshops held in local schools. Those workshops could only be made possible thanks to the financial support of National Geographic’s Conservation Trust and the Loro Parque Foundation<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Since the Moxe\u00f1os consider themselves to be the guardians of nature and all of its creatures, they were quick to understand the importance of using substitutes.<\/p>\n

\u201cEach headdress is made of an average of 30 central tail feathers; that means that one headdress of artificial feathers saves at least 15 macaws,\u201d explained Gustavo S\u00e1nchez Avila, Armon\u00eda\u2019s Conservation Programme coordinator for the Blue-throated Macaw in Trinidad.<\/p>\n