Xcaret, the Riviera Maya’s famous nature park has announced that its record-breaking scarlet macaw-breeding program has boosted the numbers of wild macaws (Ara macao) in Mexico by 30 percent. 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.
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) have dwindled to alarming levels in recent years due to poaching and the destruction of their jungle habitat.
The scarlet macaw (guacamaya roja or papagayo in Spanish and mo’ in Maya) is now only found in the remotest areas of the Lacandón Jungle in southern Chiapas – along the banks of the Usumacinta River – and Las Chimalapas, a reserve on the border between Oaxaca and Veracruz.
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.
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.
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.
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.
A Sacred Bird
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’ Pyramid at Izamal (which means Fire Macaw with the Face of the Sun) in the Yucatán and Copán in Honduras.
The founder of the ruling dynasty at Copán was called K’inich Yax K’uk’ Mo’, which translates as Great Sun First Quetzal Macaw and both sacred birds are depicted on the façade of Temple 16 at the site. Stone macaw heads also feature in the decoration of the principal ball court.
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.
To this day, the red garments worn by the Papantla Flyers, Totonac Indians from the town of Papantla in northern Veracruz, are said to represent the plumage of the sacred macaw. Their death-defying leap from a 30-meter pole and the spiraling descent they make around it with arms outstretched as if they were birds reenacts an ancient ritual honoring the sun god.
Meeting Xcaret’s Macaws
You can see Xcaret’s miracle macaws during a visit to the park. Several pairs are there to greet you upon arrival and still live in the aviary. At noon be sure to look up as a flock of them is set free to fly through the forest canopy. For a few minutes the sky turns red and the air is filled with their raucous cries. As wild populations recover we hope that future generations of Mexicans will be able to see these beautiful birds in flight.
There’s always something new to see and enjoy at Xcaret and you can learn about the park’s conservation programs such as its work with sea turtles, flamingos, manatees, butterflies and orchids. Book your trip through Thomas More Travel.
