News Highlights

Abstract

My Costa Rican adventure began in 2009. My dad was moving from United States to Costa Rica to build his dream home in the jungle, and I decided to tag along to see what it was like. I didn't originally plan to stay, but after assimilating into life here I was hooked. We eventually ended up building our home where the rescue center is now located, just outside of San Ramon, in the province of Alajuela.

I was nineteen at the time and didn't really have plans for my life. I had worked at a pet store in the States and purchased an African grey parrot there. That was the beginning of my love for birds. I stumbled upon a breeding facility here in Costa Rica and purchased a Scarlet macaw from them (see "Range" in Fig. 1). Seeing the poor conditions at this facility and what I would consider the neglect of the birds, it made me consider what I could do to make a difference. I wanted to see more and learn more about the care of birds, so I volunteered at a rescue center for a while and visited several others here in Costa Rica. I had found the direction my life and career would take.

After a lot of research, meetings with various government officials, biologists, and other rescue center experts and obtaining the proper licensing for the project, the work began. I knew that I had a lot to learn, and with the knowledge gained, I realized that there was a great need for the protection of the endangered parrots of Costa Rica.

I soon discovered that there were a number of rescue centers for the endangered macaws of Costa Rica, but none for the rescue of Yellow-naped Amazons, also an endangered species. These birds became endangered primarily due to the destruction of their natural habitat and the illegal removal of chicks for the pet trade. It did not take long to see that there was a need for a program concentrating on the rescue and rehabilitation of Yellow-napes. This was the beginning of the Parrot Rescue Center of Costa Rica, or Parrot Rescue CR. I officially received my Plan de Manejo, the license to legally operate as a rescue center in Costa Rica, on April 18, 2013.

One of the reasons there is an increased need now for wildlife rescue centers in Costa Rica is because of a change in the law. In October 2013, a new wildlife law was approved in Costa Rica.

 People caught buying or selling native wildlife species without permits could face sanctions that include imprisonment of one to three years, fines and confiscation of the animals. The law sets fines for sport hunters of up to lll.5 million ($3,000) and up to ll900,000 ($1,800) for people caught trafficking wildlife species. Those who kill animals or destroy nests or natural habitat also will face the same consequences. So now manyTicos (what Costa Ricans call themselves) who kept native parrots as pets are either just turning them loose or are turning them in to rescue centers such as the Parrot Rescue Center. However, you can legally own a pet parrot as long as you have a permit for it. A breeder can apply for a permit from MINAET (Costa Rican Fish and Wildlife Service) to breed and sell parrots. They then provide you a permit when you purchase a baby bird. A parrot that is legally purchased will come with a permit and a band on its leg, which shows that the bird was bred in captivity and not poached from the wild.

The main focus of my project is to rescue, rehabilitate and release the native parrots of Costa Rica, with an emphasis on Amazons, especially Yellow-napes (Figs. 2 and 3). Almost all of the birds that we receive come in traumatized by neglect, both physical and mental abuse and history of an extremely poor diet. After a short quarantine, the birds are introduced into habitats with other birds of their species. Often it is the first time since they were hatched or were young chicks that they have been around other parrots. In all cases to date, they adjust to "bird life" within a few months. It has been amazing to see and experience their transformations.

If they seem to be rehabilitated after some period of time, we will do a "soft" release out into the surrounding forest while still providing them some food at a feeding station. We have just done this with an Orange-chinned parakeet that was in captivity for a long time. He has been staying around our property, and in a covered area he receives daily foods-seeds, nuts, bird pellets, fruits and veggies (see Fig.4 ).