The Loro Parque Fundación has recently contributed to the reintroduction of six great green macaws from Guayaquil (Ara ambiguus guayaquilensis) into their natural habitat. This success has been possible thanks to the work of the Jocotoco Foundation and the collaboration of other associations and local communities. This subspecies is in critical danger of extinction and only 60 individuals have been counted in the wild.
Therefore, the objective of this release is to increase this small population and its genetic diversity and, thus, be able to save the species from a more than probable extinction. In this sense, the Loro Parque Fundación has collaborated technically and financially through five projects in the conservation of this species with an investment of nearly $500,000 since 1997.
In fact, this is not the first time that macaws from this subspecies have been released in Ecuador. Previously, 14 birds had been reintroduced, two of them have been bred in the Ayampe Reserve.
On this occasion, the release of these three pairs born at the Jambelí Rescue Center took place in Las Balsas, in Santa Elena, because two of the previously reintroduced birds had been sighted there living with other wild birds.
As is usual in these processes, the six individuals first passed through a pre-adaptation phase, which lasted more than five months, in the Ayampe reserve of the Jocotoco Foundation. There, the males were fitted with satellite trackers in order to determine their area of distribution, breeding and feeding sites, etc.
Thanks to these modern satellite tracking systems, the tracking of these macaws in the Ecuadorian jungle is allowing us to obtain important scientific data for the protection not only of this species, but also of many others with which it is related, such as plants, insects or even amphibians.
Thus, once again, Loro Parque Fundación continues working for the conservation of parrot species inside and outside its facilities.
Loro Parque Fundación: 25 years of commitment and love for nature
In 1994, Loro Parque consolidated its firm commitment to environmental work through the creation of the Loro Parque Fundación, an international non-profit organization specializing in the conservation and protection of species of parrots and marine mammals, among other animals, that are in danger of extinction.
Each year, thanks to the financing of the operational costs of the Foundation by Loro Parque, 100% of the received donations go directly to conservation and/or education projects in situ and ex situ. Thus, “100% for nature” is not just a slogan, but goes much further: it is reality.
Its numbers and results speak for themselves: more than 21.5 million US dollars invested in almost 200 projects on five continents and 10 species of parrots directly saved from imminent extinction with the collaboration of other associations.
