Since 1947, the yellow-winged amazon (lora) has been extinct on the island of Aruba. This vulnerable bird species is iconic for the island, as it only occurs in a small northern part of Venezuela and a few upper islands.
Our employees Johan and Marisa traveled to Aruba because they have experience in caring for and monitoring the parrots. The Fundacion Parke Nacional Aruba (FPNA) hopes that with their help the birds will regain a permanent place in the national park. There is a feeding station in the middle of this park where the birds can still go for food. Ultimately, the aim is for the parrots to be able to do this themselves, but this could take months or up to a year.
Of the 25 Loras that will be released, the first nine flew out last Tuesday and the task is now to continuously monitor them. This is to find out what works best in nature for reintroduction. The idea is that they gradually learn to live in the wild, because they are not used to this. Loras are very popular pets and therefore popular with smugglers in South America. These young parrots were seized in Aruba.
The FPNA has also set up a campaign to inform residents of the important role birds play for the ecosystem. They spread many seeds across the island.
It will also take some time before a large population of Loras lives in Aruba again. The young birds will only be able to hatch chicks in about 5 years. Fortunately, the first release of the Loras is a good start and we want to repeat this annually.
