The only wild specimens of a rare blue parrot that was recently returned to its natural habitat in Brazil have been diagnosed with a deadly, incurable virus, the government said in a statement sent to AFP on Thursday.
The disease deals a major blow to a program to return the Spix’s macaw, featured in the 2011 animated film “Rio,” to its semi-arid natural habitat in northeastern Brazil, 25 years after it was declared extinct in the wild.
This species is one of the rarest birds in the world.
Brazil’s conservation agency, ICMBio, told AFP that since a group of Spix’s macaws arrived in the country from Germany in 2020, about 20 had been released and only 11 survived.
All survivors have now tested positive for circovirus, which causes beak and feather disease in parrots.
“This disease has no cure and kills the bird in most cases,” ICMbio said in a statement.
Another 21 birds still in captivity at a breeding center in Bahia state also tested positive.
Investigations are underway to determine the origin of the virus, which poses no threat to humans.
The film “Rio” is about a Spix macaw that grows up in captivity in the United States and returns to Brazil to save its species.
Real-life efforts to save parrots deserve more of the high-stakes drama, marked by concerns about unscrupulous breeders and sales to private collectors.
The Bluesky breeding center is a partner of the German Association for the Conservation of Threatened Parrots, which, according to ICMBio, accounts for 75 percent of the world’s recorded macaws.
Brazil ended its partnership with the ATCP in 2024 after the German organization sold 26 birds to a private zoo in India without its consent.
Brazil has repeatedly raised concerns at meetings of global wildlife trade regulator CITES, which allows the sale of captive-bred macaws and fuel demand for the fragile species.
Apart from habitat loss, the birds became extinct in the wild due to demand from private collectors.
ICMBio fined the BlueSky breeding center 1.8 million reais for failing to implement biosafety protocols to prevent the spread of the virus.
Inspectors found “extremely dirty” bird feeders filled with feces, while workers were handling the birds “wearing flip-flops, shorts and T-shirts”.
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