The birth of two Lear’s macaw (Anodorhynchus leari) chicks has made Pairi Daiza the first conservation centre open to the public anywhere in the world to have successfully bred all three surviving species of blue macaw.
The chicks hatched on 1 and 3 July at the Belgian park’s Rare Bird Conservation Centre, marking a significant achievement for the conservation of one of the world’s rarest parrots.
The Lear’s macaw is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List and survives in the wild only within a small semi-arid region of north-eastern Brazil. Only a handful of specialist conservation centres worldwide have successfully bred the species.
A breeding strategy that paid off
The chicks are the first offspring of a breeding pair formed by a male born in 2014 and a female born in 2017.
Their first breeding attempt last year ended unsuccessfully after the inexperienced pair accidentally broke their only egg. In response, Pairi Daiza’s animal care team adapted its breeding strategy.
Because Lear’s macaws naturally breed in colonies, the park housed three non-breeding males in aviaries adjacent to the breeding pair. Although separated physically, their presence recreated the species’ natural social environment and encouraged successful breeding.
The result was two fertile eggs.
After the young parents damaged their nest box, the eggs were transferred to the park’s incubation facility to maximise their chances of survival. Now around three weeks old, the chicks are being hand-reared and fed five times a day under continuous veterinary and keeper supervision.
A milestone for conservation
With these hatchings, Pairi Daiza has now successfully bred all three surviving blue macaw species: the hyacinth macaw (Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus), the Spix’s macaw (Cyanopsitta spixii) and, now, the Lear’s macaw (Anodorhynchus leari). No other conservation centre open to the public has achieved this milestone to date.
“Our satisfaction comes not only from the birth of these two chicks,” said Steffen Patzwahl, Curator at Pairi Daiza. “Above all, it comes from what we can learn from them. For such a rare species, every observation matters. By better understanding their reproduction, development and behaviour, we can expand the available knowledge and share it with the international teams also working to conserve this species.”
For species as rare as the Lear’s macaw, every successful hatch provides not only new individuals for the managed population but also valuable scientific knowledge that can strengthen conservation efforts worldwide.
