FEATURE
Cosigüina, Nicaragua. In Panama, it has almost gone from the mainland, although a few pairs are rumoured to exist in the Cerro Hoya National Park on the Azuero Peninsula. The only viable population is on Coiba Island where about 200 birds survive. On the Caribbean slope, the macaw now occurs in Mexico only in the Selva Lacandona, in the forest of south-west Belize, in the south-western Petén region of Guatemala, north-eastern Honduras (Gracias a Dios and Olancho departments, perhaps also Colón), and eastern Nicaragua. Because the populations are so fragmented, and none are large, the chances of them surviving over the long term are very poor.
MEXICO The range and populations of the Scarlet Macaw in Mexico have suffered a catastrophic reduction during the past 30 years or more. Formerly it occurred in the states of Tamaulipas, Veracruz, Oaxaca (last record in 1961), Tabasco, Campeche and Chiapas. According to Juan Carlos Cantu (personal communication 2012) it is difficult to estimate numbers in Mexico because the main population, in Chiapas, moves in and out of Guatemala. It is restricted to the rainforest in southern Chiapas in Lacandona near the border with Guatemala, along the banks of the Usumacinta river. A 1996 estimate
suggested that fewer than 200 pairs resided in Mexico. A more recent estimate suggests 500 individuals. Several attempts have been made to count them but only estimates of abundance during the breeding season (October to January) and between years have resulted, with no complete counts. There is a small population of about 50 birds in Las Chimalapas, a reserve bordering the states of Chiapas, Oaxaca and Veracruz but it has been reported that serious conflicts between the communities there prevent access. One of the most heavily traded populations of Scarlet Macaws was that in Mexico. During 1981 to 1992, before the USA passed the Wild Bird Conservation Act (WBCA), 2,148 Scarlet Macaws were legally imported into the USA. (We can guess that this meant at least 10,000 had been captured, allowing for mortality and illegal export).
But when one market
closes, others open. So the capture of Scarlet Macaws and their chicks continued. Only once in every few decades does
someone with the will, foresight and initiative of Juan Carlos Cantu comes along to do something to alert his nation to an impending extinction. After researching the problem for two years, he published his findings and presented them to the government. As a result, a law to stop the capture of wild-caught parrots came into effect on October 14
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