Program: Blue-throated Macaw Conservation
Blue-throated Macaws (Ara glaucogularis) are native to north-central Bolivia and are found only in seasonally flooded savannahs and elevated palm islands.
They are highly endangered: their already restricted wild population nearly disappeared by the end of the 1980s and when it was found again in 1992 the birds were trapped to near-extinction. Currently, parasite infestations in chicks, severe weather events, and competition for limited nest cavities with other macaws, ducks, bees, and other wildlife. Uncontrolled brushfires are an emerging hazard.
Since 2002, the World Parrot Trust has led research to understand the macaws' population recovery issues. Research has found that predation (30%) and poaching (18%) are leading causes of nest failure. From the late 2010s on, the WPT has helped local partners to establish protected areas, carry out community education, survey populations, learn to mitigate an increasing wildfire threat, secure breeding areas and nests and support wild chicks in need of extra care.
Make a difference in the lives of parrots.
Find out what projects the World Parrot Trust is supporting for the Blue-throated Macaw.
