Original article by Rodrigo Soberanes for Mongabay
This endangered species is struggling to survive within the biological corridor common to Belize, Guatemala and Mexico. It is here that wildlife traffickers snatch chicks from their nests. Experts estimate that the number of Scarlet Macaws remaining in this corridor does not exceed 1000 individuals.
Tracing the path of the Mayan history, images of the Scarlet Macaw appear frequently. Today they´re placed in advertising for hundreds of travel businesses as well as at bus terminals. But this emblematic species itself is running out of ways to navigate in its habitat and survive.
The last biological corridor of the Scarlet Macaw in Latin America crosses three countries: Guatemala, Belize and Mexico. And that's where this species struggles in the face of the constant habitat loss caused by forest fires, the expansion of cattle ranching, the establishment of new human settlements, and, mainly, the siege of wildlife traffickers who rob their nests.
Environmental organizations consulted by Mongabay Latam, from all three countries, estimate that the number of Scarlet Macaws remaining in this corridor does not exceed 1000 today. However, it is believed that a greater number survive inside households, after being bought as pets in regional illegal markets. Some Scarlet Macaws have been found in the possession of senior public officials, according to information obtained for this report.
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