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Our first “Second chick” has hatched!

Good news from the field!.

We have started our first translocation experiment.

One of our breeding pairs, from nest named “Mandy Lu”, has hatched a second chick that is 5 days younger than its first sibling. Because it is so much younger, we know it has very low chances of survival (80% chance of death by starvation). Therefore, we have taken action so that second one has better chances of survival.

Second chick (left) and first chick (right). Age difference = 5 days. If both stayed in the nest, the second chick has an 80% chance of death by starvation.

We have taken the older chick to the research station and left the younger one in the nest. The nesting female didn’t seem to mind and so far she has kept raising it normally. The first chick was 5 days old when removed from nest. It is a healthy chick that has learned how to be hand-fed very quickly and really enjoys napping .

And special thanks to Rainforest Expeditions and all the staff here at Tambopata Research Center for all their help and support!


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About This Project

Wild Scarlet Macaw populations are declining due to the illegal trade and habitat loss. Although Scarlet Macaws lay 2-4 eggs, macaw parents will only feed the 1st and 2nd chick, while the others starve to death. We will develop techniques to increase survival of these chicks by moving them into new nests with no chicks, or only 1 chick. Our research suggests that the new parents will adopt and care for their new chicks, allowing them to reach maturity and fledge from the nest.

Blast off!

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