Copán, Ruins, Honduras.
There were 10 specimens of the National Bird of Honduras released this Saturday in the Macaw Mountain Park, Located in Copán Ruins, during the seventh release of Guaras that is realized in the west of country.
The activity, coordinated by the Organization for the Protection of Birds PRO-ALAS, Macaw Mountain Bird Park and Marca País Honduras, was carried out with a limited audience and a live broadcast through Honduras National Television and the social networks of the organizers.
Since 2011 at least 70 specimens of Guaras have been released in the west of the country, where 1,000 years ago the bird was considered a deity by the Maya. Four of these liberations have been in the Mayan site of Copán, that is to say, the archaeological zone of the Mayan civilization, and two in the sacred valley of the Red Macaw, that includes / understands the municipalities of Copán Ruins, Santa Rita, Cabins and St. Jerome, in an area of at least 870 square kilometers.
Bird shelter
Macaw Mountain is a bird rescue, rehabilitation and release center with approximately 300 of these and classified into 30 species, which are considered a national pride by locals.
Macaw Mountain began working alongside the Copán Ruins community in 2011 to restore a population of Red Guaras to the archeological park. The bird park and nature reserve has more than 15 years of commitment in direct ex situ conservation actions and a decade of responsibility in the management of birds, mainly Guaras, parrots and rehabilitated parakeets from confiscations, donations, births or others, to end in viable and successful reintroductions and releases.
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To get a release requires groups of birds completely ready to fly. The six releases made since 2011 in Copán Ruins occurred through birds gradually accumulated from private donations, seizures by government authorities such as the Institute of Forest Conservation (ICF), others from nests located in the valley sacred of the Red Guara in Copán and in avianas in Macaw Mountain.
The Sacred Valley of the Red Guara is a declaration of agreement between the leaders of the communities for the protection of the Red Guara and considered a sacred bird in the Mayan civilization, as well as all the species that inhabit the Copán Valley in a area comprising 870 square kilometers. This agreement was signed between the mayors of the four municipalities: Copán Ruins, Santa Rita, Cabanyes and Sant Jeroni, on April 11, 2016.
Bird reintroduction support
Prior to the release, Marca País Honduras signed for the second consecutive year the support provided to the Center for Incubation and Assisted Raising (Cica), the first center of its kind in the country.
The Cica is a coordinated joint effort between the organization for the protection of Pro-Wings birds, the Macaw Mountain bird park, the World Parrot Trust (World Parrot Foundation) and is supported by the Welchez Foundation, the Honduran Institute of Tourism (IHT), the Institute of Forest Conservation (ICF), the Honduran Institute of Anthropology and History (Ihah) and Marca País Honduras.
The founder of Macaw Mountain and president of Pro-Ales, Lloyd Davidson, Referred that this organization is a direct consequence of the program of reintroduction of the red guara in the valley of Copán.
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“Flying macaws for their spectacular presence, changed a lot of things, including the experience of visitors to the archeological park, they have even come to have their own festival (Guacamai Fest),” he indicated.
“This is part of the efforts to promote tourism, biodiversity and national pride, programs like these (for the release of birds) are very important for the country because they involve the conservation of our species and represent an attraction which adds to the history and cultural richness of Copán Ruins “, stated the coordinator of Marca País Honduras, Luis René Suazo.
“It is impressive to look at and appreciate that these birds are better in freedom. The idea should always be to think of the domestic bird as free birds,” the official said.