<
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/apr/09/a-dream-come-true-brazils-blue-and-yellow-macaws-return-to-rio-after-200-years>
"Images of the iconic blue-and-yellow macaw can be spotted all over Rio de
Janeiro. Yet the real thing has been seen so rarely in the Brazilian city that
some wondered if it ever really existed there at all.
The French explorer Jean de Léry first described an abundance of the
giant, colourful parrots around Indigenous tribes in the 16th century,
and the Austrian naturalist Johann Natterer sighted the
Ara ararauna
in the city in 1818.
After that, the record goes blank. Experts say the species was almost certainly
wiped out by deforestation, along with the tapirs, jaguars and peccaries that
once roamed the forests surrounding the city.
Now, 200 years later, flashes of blue and gold are once again peppering the
forest canopy as biologists bring the species – and the forest – back to life.
“They are so magnificent. It’s no surprise that all the visitors are constantly
asking how they can see them,” says Viviane Lasmar, director of Tijuca national
park. “For me, as the head of the park, it’s special. But even more so as a
carioca [someone from Rio]. It’s a dream come true.”"
Via Susan ****
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
