Scarlet macaw

Scarlet macaw

Scientific name: Ara macao
In the wild: threatened
Jerusalem zoo: a few individuals 
Ara macao is found in Southern Mexico, Central America and South America. Scarlet macaws are found high in the canopy of rainforests. The Family Ara are brightly colored parrots with feathers ranging in color from scarlet on their head and shoulders to yellow on their back and blue on the wing tips. Scarlet macaws form monogamous pairs that last for life. Both male and female care for their young. Their nests are made in hollow parts of the tree high in the canopy of the forest. The nest it well hidden from predators that may reach the tree tops – snakes, monkeys, toucans and other small mammals. The young stay close to the parents even after they fledge, and leave when they reach adolescence after a year or two. The macaw can live in captivity up to 75 years, but do not usually live so long in the wild. The Scarlet macaw diet consists of fruit, nuts, nectar and flowers. They tend to eat fruit before it is ripe using their very strong beaks to crush the fruit and nut shells. This is an advantage over other animals who don’t have strong beaks and have to wait until the fruit ripen. The Aras, like many other parrot species, are a threatened species due to deforestation of the rainforests, which is their natural habitat. Also, poachers hunt parrots for the pet trade. Although much effort have been made to slow the decline of scarlet macaws, it is not easy. Each year, thousands of parrot are confiscated at borders and many are then transferred to zoos, after determining that the parrots cannot be released back to the wild. Some of the parrots at the Jerusalem Zoo were confiscated from illegal traders.