The Spix's Macaw, Ara Spixii,
has been extinct in the wild since the last solitary male disappeared from
the Melancia Creek watershed south of Curaça, Brazil in October 2000. The
future of the Spix's is now determined by IBAMA, The Working Group for the
Recovery of the Spix's Macaw, and the approximately 67 Spix's held
within the cooperative breeding program spread across the globe in Qatar (AWWP),
Germany (ACTP), Spain (Loro Parque Foundation), and Brazil (Lymington
Foundation and the Sao Paulo Zoo).
These organizations have unequivocally
demonstrated their desire to see the future reintroduction of the Spix's
to its historical habitat. Parrots International serves as a consultant to
the Working Group for the Recovery of the Spix's Macaw, dedicated to the return of the Spix's
Macaw to its historical habitat.
In August of 2006 Parrots International
volunteers, Mark and Marie Stafford, self-financed a research trip to the historical habitat of the
Spix's Macaws near Curaça, Brazil. This Parrots International trip, with
the direction and knowledge of Dr. Yara de Melo Barros. PhD., led to the
identification of an area of prime historical Spix's Macaw habitat with
the option to purchase, known as the Gangorra Farm.
Parrots International introduced
the idea of the purchase of Gangorra Farm to the Working Group for the
Recovery of the Spix's Macaw, held at the Sao Paulo Zoo in November of
2006. The Working Group for the Spix's Macaw, a consultant group to
IBAMA, consists of the foremost parrot conservation experts; the
Spix's Macaw holders; and involved conservation organizations. At the
meeting of the Working Group, we proposed the formation of a group of
partners to purchase Gangorra. It is this partnership that was
ultimately responsible for the negotiations, funding and purchase of
the Gangorra farm for the future reintroduction of the Spix's Macaw
into the wild.
On Valentine's Day, 2007, the
historical Spix's habitat of Gangorra Farm, totally 400 hectares (1000
acres), was purchased by the partnership of Parrots International,
ACTP (Germany) and Lymington Foundation (Brazil) for the benefit of
the Spix's Macaw Working Group. Mark & Marie Stafford of Parrots
International donated US $10,000 of their personal funds through
Parrots International, Martin Guth of ACTP (one of the Spix's holders)
matched the donation with $10,000 and Bill and Linda Witcoff (also
Spix's holders) of the Lymington Foundation (Parrots International's
partner NGO in Brazil) donated approximately $4,500 in funds to cover
the legal and real estate transaction costs.
The partnership would gladly accept
additional partners to move forward with the habitat restoration of
Gangorra and construction of the permanent Spix's Field Station.
This Gangorra Farm is home to the last Spix's nest in the wild (see
above) and is ideal habitat for the prospective reintroduction of Spix's
Macaws into their historical habitat.
We therefore wish to share "The Dream"
of the reintroduction of the Spix's Macaw back into the wild with any and
all.
