The Puerto Rican Amazon Parrot: Conservation Must!

admin — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 01:49:00 +0000

I just got back from Puerto Rico. The American paradise! All I can say is BEAUTIFUL. This place is teaming with beauty. I know. Everyone thinks of beach. Snorkeling. Scuba. San Juan. I thought rainforests and the only parrot indigenous to the U.S. The Puerto Rican Parrot.

I’m biased, in that I think all parrots are beautiful. But good grief. Take a look at this beauty! I’ve got an Orange Winged Amazon, Mandolina, a.k.a. “Mandy.” Even so, to be redundant, all parrots hold a special place in my heart. Well, all birds for that matter. I saw some wonderful sea birds on my snorkeling excursions.

But, check this out. The incredible efforts that we are going through as a nation to bring back the Puerto Rican Amazon Parrot. El Yunque Rainforest, just a few miles from my hotel, the Wyndham Rio Mar, offers a conservation program. Oh, I bet you didn’t know this either. El Yunque is in 2nd place as one of the New 7 Wonders of the World. Unbelievable! That is until you see it. OMG.

You know, sad statistic is that there are only about 295 Puerto Rican Amazons counting both captive and wild populations. But as a nation, we’re pulling it together to bring this wonderful parrot back. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service maintains a El Yunque has a Puerto Rican Parrot nursery. Puerto Rico celebrates these parrots. In fact, the municipal of Rio Grande boasts statues of Puerto Rican Parrots at the entry and exit of the town off of Hwy 3. They are actively trying to re-introduce this beautiful parrot back into our only American Rainforest.

I don’t know about you, but I’m an avid ecology advocate. I want my son and his kids to experience a clean, diverse, and rich world. Including the Puerto Rican Amazon Parrot. So, as you read this blog update, please consider the journey that your particular parrots’ ancestors have had to endure. Respect their unique diversity and personalities. Appreciate and enrich their captive existence. So, if you have a parrot as a pet, here is what you can do:

Encourage and Promote Parrot Foraging and Enrichment Opportunities.
Make Your Parrot Part Of Your FLOCKILY (family and flock) each day.
Allow Your Parrot To Fly.
Feed Your Parrot The Diet It Needs:

Photo borrowed from 10,000 Birds

Mexico Aims To Protect Wild Parrots

admin — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 01:21:00 +0000

Mexico’s president, Felipe Calderon Hinojosa, has signed into law a bill banning the capture and export of the country’s wild parrots. The measure aims to protect Mexico’s 22 species of parrots and macaws, about 90 percent of which are in categories of risk.

The Environment Commission of the Deputy Chamber introduced the bill one year ago, and the Mexican Senate passed it in April with near unanimous support.

The bill was drafted in response to a 2007 report by Defenders of Wildlife, a nonprofit wildlife advocacy organization and Teyeliz A.C. an organization that monitors the trade of Mexico’s wildlife. The report was the first to document the illegal trade of parrots. It found that an estimated 65,000 to 78,5000 of Mexico’s wild parrots and macaws are captured for trade each year, with more than 75 percent dying before reaching a purchaser.

According to the Defenders of Wildlife, six of Mexico’s 22 species of parrots and macaws are found nowhere else in the world. The latest Mexican classification, which has yet to be published lists 11 species as endangered, five as threatened and four as requiring special protection.

PetProductews.com

December 2008

Page 16

ParrotQuest » endangered parrots

The Puerto Rican Amazon Parrot: Conservation Must!

Mexico Aims To Protect Wild Parrots