Xcaret, the Riviera Maya\u2019s famous nature park has announced that its record-breaking scarlet macaw-breeding program has boosted the numbers of wild macaws (Ara macao<\/i>) in Mexico by 30 percent.\u00a0 Since 2013, in coordination with experts from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), Acajungla A.C. and Ecoparque Aluxes, 73 birds born in Xcaret have been released into the wild near the ancient Mayan city of Palenque in Chiapas.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 Members of the parrot family, macaws are among the most beautiful birds in the Americas. Once widespread in Mexico, the numbers of scarlet macaw and its smaller green cousin, also known as the military macaw (Ara militaris<\/i>) have dwindled to alarming levels in recent years due to poaching and the destruction of their jungle habitat.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0 The scarlet macaw (guacamaya roja or papagayo in Spanish and mo\u2019 in Maya) is now only found in the remotest areas of the Lacand\u00f3n Jungle in southern Chiapas \u2013 along the banks of the Usumacinta River \u2013 and Las Chimalapas, a reserve on the border between Oaxaca and Veracruz.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0 Xcaret began to breed macaws in 1993 and has been so successful that it is in the Guinness Book of Records for the numbers of chicks hatched in a single year; 175 birds were born in 2012. Macaws mate for life and there are now 100 breeding pairs and to date, over 1,000 birds have been raised from four original breeding pairs, an extraordinary achievement.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0 In 2011, Xcaret vets began to work with biologists in Chiapas and with UNAM to see if the DNA of chicks born in the park was compatible with that of wild birds in a reserve in the Palenque area with the goal of eventually releasing scarlet macaws into the wild. The tests proved successful and the first macaws were transported to their new home in Chiapas in 2013.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0 Before being released into the wild, the birds have to adapt to life in a forest reserve and to learn to fend for themselves. They have to begin to forage for palm kernels, seeds, nuts and jungle fruit, identify natural predators, seek shelter in the treetops and fly freely.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0 With the success of the Palenque releases, Xcaret plans to continue its macaw project in Chiapas and extend it to the Los Tuxtlas region in southern Veracruz.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n A Sacred Bird<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n In Mayan mythology, macaws and parrots were associated with the sun god and with kingship. They are depicted in ancient ceramics, sculptures and stucco facades or are associated with temples throughout the Maya World. Macaw imagery or references appear on the Temple of the Birds and the Great Pyramid at Uxmal, the Kinich Kak Mo\u2019 Pyramid at Izamal (which means Fire Macaw with the Face of the Sun) in the Yucat\u00e1n and Cop\u00e1n in Honduras.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0 The founder of the ruling dynasty at Cop\u00e1n was called K\u2019inich Yax K\u2019uk\u2019 Mo\u2019, which translates as Great Sun First Quetzal Macaw and both sacred birds are depicted on the fa\u00e7ade of Temple 16 at the site. Stone macaw heads also feature in the decoration of the principal ball court.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0 Macaw tail feathers were prized by Mesoamerican cultures and were important trade goods. Mayan leaders wore them in their headdresses and the Aztecs demanded them as tribute from their vassals in Chiapas.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n