Critically Endangered Blue-throated Macaws hatched at Szeged Zoo

Image credit: Lajos Endrédi / Szeged Zoo

Two chicks of the extremely rare Blue-throated Macaws (Ara glaucogularis) hatched at Szeged Zoo and can soon be observed by visitors - director Róbert Veprik informed MTI on Friday.

The Blue-throated Macaw - a South American parrot species - is one of the most endangered bird species on Earth, with approximately only three hundred adult individuals living in the wild, according to the IUCN Red List.

Europe's zoos are trying to save the endangered parrot species with a dedicated breeding program, which the Szeged Zoo was the first of the Hungarian institutions to join.

The relatively small Blue-throated Macaw is 85 centimeters long and has a wingspan of one meter and weighs about one kilogram. In the last century, the species was threatened by the illegal wildlife trade, while these days, the destruction of its habitat, including the felling of trees suitable for food and breeding, is a major problem.

Source: MTI