Mexican nature park sets Guinness record
June 3rd, 2011 - 2:59 pm ICT by IANSCancun (Mexico), June 3 (IANS/EFE) The Guinness World Records organisation has recognized Mexico’s Xcaret Eco Theme Park for a reproduction programme that the largest number of Macaw births in captivity in a single year.
A total of 95 Scarlet Macaws and 10 Military Macaws that are now two years old were born at that park in the southeastern Mexican state of Quintana Roo in 2009, biologist Rodolfo Raigoza said, adding that those species do not reproduce easily.
“Macaws are endangered species in our country and their habits make reproduction very difficult. They are very faithful to their mate (and) only have one mate in their lifetime. They choose their partner and never separate and if one of the two dies it’s very uncommon for (the remaining bird) to seek another mate,” Raigoza said.
A high percentage of mating Macaw pairs are sterile and others do not build nests and therefore require a lot of help in reproducing, Raigoza said.
“At the Xcaret Macaw Reproduction Center, we’ve managed to increase the number of births and reduce mortality. This year there were 125 births and 105 survived, which is a high number,” the biologist said.
During the first three months after birth, the Macaws are kept in incubators and supervised by a team of four people.
“Our team of moms and dads of the little birds are responsible for feeding them. It’s very intense work. Imagine what it’s like to feed 105 baby birds every four hours for at least three months,” Raigoza said.
The Xcaret Macaw Reproduction Center currently is home to 772 of these birds, more than 90 percent of which were born at that facility.
In 2001, the Mexican government made trafficking in Macaws a federal crime.
The Xcaret team has run a breeding program for Scarlet Macaws and Military Macaws since 1992 and in 2009 supervised the birth and survival of 105 members of those species.
Kimberly Patrick, representative of the Guinness World Records organization, issued the certificate recognizing the park’s accomplishment to Grupo Xcaret President Miguel Quintana Pali, owner of the park.
Macaws inhabit a vast stretch of territory that ranges as far north as northeastern Mexico and includes all of Central America and parts of Colombia, Peru, Bolivia and Brazil.
–IANS/EFE
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