Scarlet Macaw Conservation Program
May 20, 2013Scarlet Macaws once flourished throughout Central America. Unfortunately due primarily to poaching (the practice of taking eggs from nests in order to sell the chicks as “house pets”) they are in danger of extinction. In Costa Rica they can only be seen in the Carara National Park – Punta Leona area and the Osa Peninsula.
At Punta Leona, under the direction of biologist Christopher Vaughn, a program began in 1996 to try to increase the numbers of Scarlet Macaws in the area. Artificial nests were built and placed high in trees in an attempt to attract Macaws to lay their eggs on the Punta Leona property; a protected area where poachers would not be able to get to the eggs. This past breeding season, several of the artificial nests held chicks
