Twenty parakeets fly back to their native forest!

On February 23, with the support of Loro Parque Fundación, twenty Red-masked Parakeets (Psittacara erythrogenys) were released in our Buenaventura reserve. These birds, victims of animal trafficking, were rescued by the Ministry of Environment, and taken to the Arenillas Zoo where the birds were examined and treated.

After their quarantine, the parakeets were transferred to Buenaventura for rehabilitation. Then, for two months, prior to releasing them back into the wild, we worked on their diet adaptation with fruits of the forest. This is the third year that this release has been carried out successfully in our reserve, adding to a total of 60 Red-masked Parakeets!

The species lives in western Ecuador and northwestern Peru and is endemic to this region. Unfortunately, there are probably no more than 10,000 individuals living in the wild. The population, classified as Near Threatened by the IUCN, has decreased in recent decades due to habitat loss and capture for the pet trade (Ridgely et al).