Among the unlawfully imported birds that were taken by the Forest Department from Hazrat ShahJalal International Airport late last month were Lear’s macaws. We have a look at what lies ahead for the threatened birds
Lear’s macaws ( unlawfully imported birds and just recently took at the airport) were sent to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Safari Park, Gazipur, where they are presently kept in quarantine. Photo: Masud Al Mamun
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Lear’s macaws ( unlawfully imported birds and just recently took at the airport) were sent to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Safari Park, Gazipur, where they are presently kept in quarantine. Photo: Masud Al Mamun
Remember the blue macaw set from the 2011 animated movie ‘Rio’? The motion picture was influenced by the predicament of Spix’s macaw, a macaw types that was on the verge of termination in the wild at that time.
In the motion picture, a male Spix’s macaw, raised in captivity in the United States takes a trip all the method to Brazil to sign up with the last living female of its types to repopulate the wild. The motion picture played an essential function in spreading out awareness about illegal/unethical animal businesses that pressed lots of bird types to termination
But it was far too late.
A research study launched in 2018 discovered that the Spix’s macaw had actually gone extinct in the wild years back.
In a comparable turn of occasions, 3 blue macaws, coming from Lear’s macaw types, have actually wound up in Bangladesh. Lear’s macaw, likewise called the Indigo macaw, is noted by IUCN as Endangered. The birds were taken by the Forest Department from Hazrat ShahJalal International Airport late last month, in a consignment of unlawfully imported birds.
The birds were initially determined as Hyacinth macaw by the forest department due to the 2 types’ similar look, however as the news notified lots of worldwide specialists, the FD later on understood the smuggled birds were more of an uncommon range. The Hyacinth macaw is likewise noted as Vulnerable.
Also amongst the 69 took birds were Tawny frogmouth, Toucan and little parrots typically referred to as lovebirds. Lear’s macaw and Toucan are safeguarded under CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora). The importer was slapped with a Tk72 lakh fine, and its licence has actually likewise been suspended for a year.
The birds were sent to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Safari Park, Gazipur, where they are presently kept in quarantine.
Photo: Masud Al Mamun
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Photo: Masud Al Mamun
Conservationists from both home and abroad revealed issue over the smuggling effort of the threatened birds.
“Lear’s macaws are extremely threatened with just a couple of hundred enduring in the wild in Brazil. Their wild populations have actually been annihilated by capture for the animal trade,” Dr Rowan Martin, Director of Bird Trade Programmes at the World Parrot Trust informed The Business Standard.
“We are extremely motivated by the actions being required to resolve the unlawful sell wildlife in Bangladesh which has actually ended up being a significant centre for the international bird trade, importing 10s of countless wild birds each year from all over the world. The concealment of an extremely important and exceptionally unusual types within a secret compartment recommends a well-organised trafficking operation making use of the legal trade of birds into Bangladesh,” Dr Martin included.
What’s next?
The authorities have actually not yet chosen precisely what to do with the unusual birds, however there is a possibility that they will be put in the routine display screen cage where visitors can see them. Currently, there are numerous people of Red-and-green macaw, and Blue-and-yellow macaw in a big cage where visitors are enabled to get in and animal the birds and take images with them.
“A case has actually been submitted in this regard, we’ll take the choice as soon as the trial is over. However, given that the birds are foreign, there is a possibility that they will be kept in the safari park. There are precedents of it when it comes to taken animals and birds,” Imran Ahmed, Conservator of Forests (CF) and Project Director, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Safari Park informed TBS.
Macaws breeding in captivity is exceptionally unusual in Bangladesh. In 2011, 2 Blue-and-yellow macaw chicks were hatched in a personal zoo in Dhaka. Last month, a chick from the exact same types was hatched in the Safari Park. The parent birds have actually remained in the park for about 8 years.
However, there is no other way for the macaws to be launched in the wild in Bangladesh, as the birds are belonging to South America. They may not endure in a Bangladeshi forest, and likewise the danger of poaching is high.
This would suggest that the fate of Lear’s macaws is sealed, and they may need to live the rest of their lives in cages in the safari park.
Photo: Masud Al Mamun
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Photo: Masud Al Mamun
Conservationists have actually been trying to reverse the fate of the birds extinct in the wild.
There are well-managed breeding programs for various types of threatened macaws in Brazil and in Europe.
Last year, 8 hostage Spix’s macaw (the bird from the motion picture ‘Rio’), was reestablished into the forest in Brazil thanks to an amazing worldwide preservation effort. And there are strategies to launch more in the coming days. The birds have actually been kept in captivity around the globe, Europe consisted of.
Under comparable programs, captive-bred Lear’s macaws are already being utilized to enhance wild populations.
“With a types this near to termination, it’s essential that these macaws are incorporated into genuine preservation breeding programs in Europe or Brazil so they can help secure the future for these extraordinary birds. It would be the very best possible result from this terrible circumstance,” Dr Rowan Martin said.
The forest department says it is possible.
“If any intergovernmental plan enables the sending out of the birds to a breeding program with a view to repopulating in the wild, I think this will be a good idea,” said CF Imran Ahmed.
For a long period of time, Bangladesh has actually been utilized as a multinational transit point by wildlife smugglers. Many unique birds and animals have actually been rescued from smugglers by police from time to time. Smugglers typically blend unlawful trade with legal ones to get away with it.
