Great Green Macaws release in Las Balsas Reserve
On the 3rd of March of 2020 we released six Great Green Macaws (Ara ambiguus guayaquilensis) at our Las Balsas Reserve. This reintroduction project started in 2017 thanks to the financial and technical support of Loro Parque Fundación and the collaboration of Centro de Rescate Jambelí. During these past three years we released 19 individuals.
The Great Green Macaw (Ara ambiguus) is an endangered species with a world population of 3,700 individuals. The subspecies (Ara ambiguus guayaquilensis) in only found in Ecuador and is critically endangered with less than 60 individuals in the wild. The objective of this project is to strengthen the remaining populations and to improve the genetic diversity to save this species from a probable extinction.
The six individuals were born in captivity in the Rescue Center Jambeli, who donated the macaws to Jocotoco for their release. They went through a phase of pre-adaptation for over five months in our Ayampe Reserve. Three male macaws were marked with satellite trackers to determine the foraging, roosting and distribution sites.
At this occasion we released the birds at our newest Reserve Las Balsas because a couple of Great Green Macaws previously released at our Ayampe Reserve were found here together with a group of wild macaws. Crucially, we know that two of the macaws nest in the area. In September 2019, two fledglings left the nest.
