The hyacinth macaw is the largest parrot in the world. These distinct dark blue macaws grow up to 1 meter (3.3 feet) in length from tail tip to beak. They live only in Brazil, Bolivia, and Paraguay in South America.
Hyacinth macaws face many conservation challenges, including habitat loss. Humans turn their forest homes into farms and other human spaces. Another threat to hyacinth macaws is the pet trade, where wild parrots are captured and sold as pets. Hyacinth macaws are listed as vulnerable to extinction on the IUCN Red List, the endangered species list.
In Brazil, much of the hyacinth macaw population lives in the Pantanal wetlands in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul. The Pantanal is the largest tropical wetland on Earth. Fires are normal in the Pantanal ecosystem. Fires usually occur between July and September, but climate warming is bringing earlier, more intense and devastating fires to the region.
In 2024, fires in the Pantanal started by late May. These fires started after prolonged drought, high temperatures, and low rainfall.
About 1,000 hyacinth macaws live in Caiman Ecological Refuge, which is a former cattle ranch in the Pantanal. The refuge is the headquarters of the Arara Azul Institute (Hyacinth Macaw Institute), founded by biologist Neiva Guedes.
Fires that started on August 1 have damaged the macaw habitat in the Caiman Ecological Refuge. The fire started from a neighboring property where a truck caught on fire. Winds quickly spread the fires and overwhelmed the refuge. “It came with strong winds and in less than three days swept across almost 80% of the property,” said Neiva.
Century-old trees were burned, as were stands of palm trees that are the hyacinth macaw’s main food source.
The fires ended on August 3, but some large trees and the underbrush continued to burn until August 8, when rains finally arrived. The fires are under control at the moment, but biologists are still worried about the effects of the fire because the refuge is an important breeding center for the hyacinth macaw.
In 2019, fires caused the loss of hyacinth macaw eggs and chicks. The 2024 fires started at the beginning of the macaw’s breeding season, when parrot pairs look for natural and artificial nests in which to lay their eggs. While some eggs were affected, the macaw chicks had not started hatching yet, according to Neiva.
“In the past, in 2019, we saw that the fire affected almost 50% of the nests, directly and immediately, with the burning of nest trees, artificial nests, eggs, and the death of chicks,” Neiva said. “This time, there were just no chicks. So, we are recovering natural nests where possible. We are reinstalling nest boxes where we find trees near those that fell or were burned.”
This story has been adapted for Mongabay Kids. It is based on an article by Shreya Dasgupta, published on Mongabay News.
