Rare Lear’s macaw hatched in São Paulo ZOO

ZOOs and birdparks

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After many years of intensive work, São Paulo ZOO announced unique success in breeding of the rare Lear’s Macaw (Anodorhynchus leari). The first chick hatched on April 13, 2015 and it is the first breeding achieved in captivity in public institution in Brazil.

The egg was incubated naturally and then artificially in an incubator for last 13 days at temperature 37,2°C to 37,5°C with humidity 45-55%. After hatching the temperature was set on 35°C.

“Currently, the baby bird is responding very well to the special care of the biologists in the birds department with a balanced diet, daily weight and growth controls, as well as being kept in an incubator with an approximate temperature of 35C,” a spokesman of ZOO said for The Telegraph. There are together 12 adult Lear‘s macaws in São Paulo ZOO but they are not on display to the public.

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Two Lear’s Macaws at Rio de Janeiro Zoo, Brazil. (c) Marcos Pereira. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en

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How rare is this species?

This macaw represents one of the three Anodorhynchus species. This parrot is very similar to its close relatives the Hyacinth Macaw (Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus) and the Glaucous Macaw (Anodorhynchus glaucus). However, the latter species is mostly considered as extinct because it was last recorded in the wild in 1960s. The Lear’s Macaw is markedly smaller (75cm) than the Hyacinth Macaw which represents the biggest macaw species. We can find this parrot in northeast Bahia, northern Brazil, in open areas with caatinga vegetation.

According to IUCN data this species is classifed as „Endangered“. The size of wild population counts about 1,100 individuals. Frequently, the Lear’s Macaw is considered as the rarest macaw which persists in the wild. However, in the last years the growth of number of birds is promising. Today, there are other macaw species in worse situation like the Blue-throated Macaw (Ara glaucogularis).

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Title photo: (c) Lear’s Macaw chick. Paulo Gil/AcervoFPZSP. http://www.zoologico.com.br

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