Linked to SDG 15 (Life on land)
The Arara Azul Project, created by biologist Neiva Guedes in 1989, aims to conserve the Hyacinth macaws and the biodiversity of the Pantanal wetlands. Since the beginning, the initiative has had Toyota’s support, and since 2009, it has been sponsored by Toyota do Brasil Foundation.
Its main activities involve monitoring and recovery of the birds and their nests, environmental education activities, and also workshops on conservation, citizenship, income generation for the local population, and awareness for sustainable tourism.
Thanks to the work of the project, the Hyacinth macaws were removed from the Ministry of Environment’s List of Endangered Species of Brazilian Fauna in 2014.
The trade, mistreatment, and trafficking of wild animals are prohibited by law. Besides reporting to Ibama (0800-61-8080), another way to discourage this practice is not to buy them!
The Arara Azul Institute, which is headquartered in Campo Grande (MS), also promotes other activities and research, such as the Aves Urbanas (Urban Birds) Project, which aims to conserve Caninde macaws and other birds that breed in cavities in the urban area.
The Hyacinth macaw is the largest Psittacidae in the world — a group of birds that have a highly developed brain, just like parrots and parakeets.
They are social birds that live in families or flocks, and it is very difficult to find them alone in the wild. They also show a certain fidelity to their feeding and breeding grounds, returning to these environments frequently.
To assist and encourage reproduction, the project teams work not only with the recovery and management of natural nests, but also building artificial nests throughout the Pantanal region in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul.
Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus – popularly known as Hyacinth Macaw, Hyacinthine Macaw or Blue Macaw.
They can measure up to 1 meter (from the tip of the beak to the tip of the tail).
Adults weigh up to 1.3 kg, and the offspring can reach up to 1.7 kg during the peak weight period.
Based only on nuts from two species of palm trees — Acuri and Bocaiúva.
The Hyacinth Macaw is monogamous, begins to reproduce at the age of eight or nine, and lays an average of two eggs per clutch.
The Manduvi is the main tree species, concentrating about 90% of the Hyacinth Macaw's nests.
Check out more details about the projects, research activities and campaigns promoted by Arara Azul Institute teams.
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