Macaws of the Peruvian Amazaon

Dear Earthwatcher,

The brilliant Macaws of the Peruvian Amazon are in a race against time.

Already threatened by local deforestation and poachers, they’re now under the shadow of a monumental multi-national project, the Interoceanic Highway. More than 2,500 km long, it’ll connect Brazil to the Pacific and to Asian markets. Going through Peru’s forests, it’ll bisect biodiverse and culturally rich areas, dragging miners, developers, loggers, and more deforestation in its wake.

But it’s not too late to minimize its effects. With your help, the latest research technology, and the dedication of Co-Principal Investigators Dr. Donald Brightsmith and Alan Lee, the macaws have a chance.

In January, Dr. Brightsmith’s team placed satellite tracking collars on three blue and gold macaws, the first such birds to be collared (after prototype tests). Preliminary data suggest the macaws fly beyond the boundaries of currently protected areas—into the vicinity of the Highway.

We need to collar more birds quickly so that statistically significant data can be presented to regional government agencies. In the coming months, these agencies will finalize long term conservation plans for regions affected by the Highway.

Your help can make sure the macaws’ needs are heard in those discussions.

Collaring birds is labor-intensive work, and requires experienced researchers. But the researchers can’t devote all their time to it without you there, because doing so would jeopardize the continuity of other data. When you join them in the field, you make sure other research activities, such as observing macaws at the world’s largest clay lick, go on uninterrupted. You can even help tie the thousands of slip knots used in the humane collaring traps.

Learn more online about how you can help by joining Don Brightsmith, Alan Lee, and the rest of the team in the field this winter as they try to save the macaws, or call 1.800.776.0188 for more information.

Sincerely,

James M. Fry
Director of Volunteer Outreach
Earthwatch Institute

P.S. Unable to join us in the field in 2009? Donate, become a member, or contribute to an expedition fund.