Puerto Rican Parrot Aviary and Recovery Effort $ only 35 in the wild

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.nfwf.org/puerto_rican_parrot.cfm

Select parrot recovery to donate here: https://secure.webcreate.com/clients/70/contributionform.cfm



Buy the special Jimmy Buffett/ Margaritaville tee shirt and $1 goes to the fund too:





Decline and Recovery of the Puerto Rican Parrot
When Europeans arrived in the Caribbean 500 years ago, more than one million Puerto Rican Parrots graced the islands wilderness. In 1967, the Puerto Rican Parrot was listed as an endangered species when only 24 individuals remained in the wild.

The dramatic reduction in numbers of the parrot was primarily due to deforestation for agriculture, which eliminated extensive areas of mature forest. In 1973, when only 13 birds were known to exist a captive propagation program was initiated through the cooperative efforts of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources.

In 2005, the last population survey documented 30-35 parrots living in the wild and nearly 200 birds living in captive breeding facilities. These numbers will continue to increase if we can build the necessary facility to assist in the recovery effort.