Reintroducing the Scarlet Macaw in Costa Rica
- Roger Valls Martínez
- Jun 22
- 10 min read
For almost a year now, I have had the immense privilege of being part of a conservation program as important as the reintroduction project for the scarlet macaw (Ara macao) in the extreme southwest of the Nicoya Peninsula in Costa Rica. In this post, I want to explain under which circumstances such conservation projects can be useful and what this particular one entails.
Repopulation programs, population size, and ecological balance
In natural ecosystems, every species plays an irreplaceable role. From the great predators to the tiniest pollinators, all contribute to the balance and functioning of the environment they inhabit. Therefore, when a population disappears or its size is substantially reduced, the impact is not limited solely to the affected species but extends—and often more critically—to the ecosystem of which it is a part.
In this context, population size becomes fundamentally important. Species with very small populations are especially vulnerable to factors such as the loss of genetic diversity, environmental changes, and catastrophic events. For this reason, modern conservation is not limited to protecting habitats—which is undoubtedly the key measure, and in many cases even sufficient—but also aims to ensure that populations are large and diverse enough to be resilient in the face of these threats. The importance of population size is formalized in the concept of the minimum viable population, which theoretically defines the threshold necessary for a species to have a high probability of persisting over the long term, even under adverse conditions.
When natural populations are reduced in both size and diversity, their vulnerability increases significantly. In some cases, this leads to local extinctions—even to the complete disappearance of the species in the wild. In such situations, reintroduction and repopulation programs become key tools within the repertoire of conservation strategies at our disposal. These initiatives, which often involve the release of individuals bred—or kept—in captivity, aim not only to prevent the extinction of the species, but also to increase its population size and re-establish its presence in ecosystems where it once played an essential role. In doing so, they contribute not only to the survival of the species, but also to the restoration of fundamental ecological processes, such as seed dispersal, the control of other populations, and the maintenance of trophic balance. If planned and executed properly, these programs can help to repair—in part—the imbalances caused by human activity and restore ecosystems to their original functionality.
Scarlet Macaw reintroduction programs: Asoprolapa
During the 1960s through the 1980s, deforestation—primarily to establish pastureland—led to a drastic loss of forests in Costa Rica, negatively affecting not only the scarlet macaw (Ara macao) but also other wildlife species (González & Lobo, 1999). The additional pressure from the illegal trade in specimens nearly drove the scarlet macaw to extinction, according to several studies (Pérez, 1998; Vaughan, 2019; Wright et al., 2001).
While across the country only two populations remained that were large and diverse enough to be considered viable in the medium term (with more than 400 individuals in the Central Pacific zone and between 800 and 1,200 in the Osa Peninsula), the situation in the Nicoya Peninsula was far worse. The species was confined to a small group of only 12 to 15 individuals in the Cerros de Rosario and on the slopes of Barra Honda National Park. This small nucleus represented the last recorded native wild population in the region (Artavia-Durán, 2018).
Today, a changing attitude among the local community and the implementation of responsible environmental policies have spurred the recovery of forest cover, which in turn has favored the stability of the scarlet macaw population (Calvo-Obando & Ortiz-Malavassi, 2012; Artavia-Durán, 2018; Monge et al., 2016). Moreover, the continuous work carried out by Asoprolapa over several decades—in particular, the repopulation of the species in the southeast of the Nicoya Peninsula—has allowed the species to be returned to the region and has laid the groundwork for its restoration.
The captive breeding project for the release of what is known as the scarlet macaw in the southeast area of the Nicoya Peninsula was initiated by Asoprolapa in 1996. However, it was not until more than ten years later that the repopulation process began, eventually leading to the release of a total of 158 macaws (89 males and 69 females) between 2007 and 2018. Since the first release, a rigorous monitoring program in the wild has enabled the collection of data regarding the birds’ diet, mortality, and reproduction (Arias Vega, 2020). In February 2008, 30 artificial nests were introduced, and just a year later, in March 2009, the birth of the first wild fledgling was recorded. By June 2019, 95 chicks had been recorded as hatching from these nests, in addition to sporadic reports of 20 chicks from natural nests in the southeast of the Nicoya Peninsula (Arias Vega, 2020). It is currently estimated that the total population in the area exceeds 300 individuals. This number, along with the reproductive success recorded in both natural and artificial nests, indicates that the scarlet macaw population in the area is on track toward long-term viability.
On the other hand, Asoprolapa, in collaboration with Wild Sun Rescue Center, launched a second breeding facility for repopulation in the Cabuya area, in the extreme south of the province, next to the Cabo Blanco Absolute Natural Reserve. In this case, four release events have taken place so far between 2019 and 2024, with a total of 50 scarlet macaws released in the area. The objective of this project—which I have the fortune of overseeing—is to release at least 100 individuals over a ten-year period (2019–2029). For the moment, it remains a young population, with individuals not older than 6–7 years, which is why there are still no clear signs of reproductive success in the wild, either in natural or artificial nests.
The captive breeding program for repopulation, from within
As the technical director of Wild Sun Rescue Center, I am fortunate to manage the captive breeding and repopulation project for the scarlet macaw in the Cabuya area, so I’d like to give you a closer look at it through this article, allowing you to understand how it works.
Firstly, there is a number of scarlet macaw individuals considered unrecoverable and, therefore, unfit for release. This population—individuals who have suffered wounds, injuries, or irreversible psychological scars—is housed in the sanctuary managed by Asoprolapa in Bahía de Pochote. There, the macaws are kept in groups in a large enclosure where they have the opportunity to pair naturally, and it is precisely these formed pairs that are later sent to the breeding facility we manage in Cabuya. To complete the cycle, after a predetermined period in the breeding facilities, the animals are returned to their original enclosure at the sanctuary.
The aviary facilities have space for no more than six breeding pairs, that is, a total of 12 individuals (6 males and 6 females). The enclosures are suspended structures each housing one pair. Among other features, they include a wooden nest that gives the birds an opportunity to breed. To stimulate reproductive activity, a series of initiatives is implemented in the animals’ environment, ranging from dietary changes and modifications to the enclosure’s various structures and elements, to the provision of substrates and nesting materials that allow the macaws to work on their nests as they would in the wild, with the aim of stimulating gonadal activity and encouraging reproduction.
Furthermore, the project technicians follow a very strict monitoring and data-recording protocol at all times, which allows us to control the egg-laying, incubation, and chick-rearing processes—all while intervening minimally so that the parents can carry out the process as naturally as possible. Once the chicks leave the nest, the parents themselves finish raising them until they become completely independent, healthy animals capable of fending for themselves.
It is at this point that the juveniles are transferred to rearing enclosures, where they are introduced into a very small group of macaws of similar age and developmental stage, with whom they will share their first experiences as independent individuals. In this area, they experience their first social interactions outside the family group, learning to share and compete and, more generally, to interact with others. They also have the opportunity to acquire basic survival skills, such as taking shelter from inclement weather or, ideally, avoiding the ground as part of their activity range (thus minimizing future predation risk).
After a few weeks or months in the rearing enclosures, the macaws are moved to what will be the final phase of the rehabilitation process before being introduced into the wild: the pre-release enclosure. In this enclosure, we group them together into one larger group, which is the group that will be released jointly after a few months of preparation. This enclosure is of considerable size—14×12 meters, with nearly 6 meters in height. Here, the individuals finalize forming bonds with others in the group, learn to interact socially in a larger and more complex setting, build muscle and flight skills, and learn to identify and use the natural food sources they will need once in the wild.
In this area, the scarlet macaw faces no predators that would normally threaten its population survival, so no anti-predation training is carried out—a factor that has not prevented previous releases from being successful. However, one of the most important and critical aspects is the learning of self-feeding skills, so that the birds can feed independently without direct human intervention. Thus, we invest great effort in training the animals to, as mentioned earlier, identify and feed on the fruits and seeds they will encounter in their eventual habitat. Every day, we collect wild foods to offer the animals: beach almonds (Terminalia catappa), cashews (Anacardium sp.), figs (Ficus sp.), guácimo seeds (Guazuma ulmifolia), hog plum fruits (Spondias purpurea), mango (Mangifera indica), among many others. In this way, once released, the birds will be able to recognize these fruits and seeds as potential food sources and utilize them instead of the diet we provide in feeders.
When the macaws are old enough and their behavior and physical condition are optimal, the group is deemed fit for release—provided one essential condition is met: that the group is large enough. This is fundamental for social species like macaws, as releasing a large group offers numerous benefits during adaptation: it reduces the risk of predation, makes finding food easier, and prevents the initial over-dispersion that can be problematic for individuals not yet adapted to the wild. Thus, when a group of around 10–15 individuals is assembled, the release is scheduled.
For the release, a soft-release process is carried out. A soft-release is a gradual process in which the animals are voluntarily released into their natural habitat. Unlike a complete and immediate (hard) release, a soft-release allows them time to adapt to their surroundings and learn to survive on their own—with monitoring and human support in many cases, such as providing food or temporary shelter—before they become fully independent. In our case, the animals are released directly from the pre-release enclosure by simply opening its release doors, located at the top of the enclosure, allowing the birds to exit gradually. Once the entire group is out, the door is closed to prevent re-entry.
After the release, some individuals tend to disperse slightly, although they usually do so over short distances, as their bodies are not yet prepared to cover long distances by flight. However, due to the presence and calls of those individuals that remain nearby, within two or three days the entire group ends up returning and gathering around the release enclosure. From the very first minute, we provide supplementary food and drinking water to the macaws in various feeders hung at height in the area closest to the release zone. In this way, we assist them in adapting to their new environment, ensuring they do not suffer excessively during the process—something that could lead to losses for various reasons (malnutrition, predation due to maladaptive behaviors, the onset of diseases from immunosuppression, etc.).
In the post-release process, we monitor the condition of the released population daily through opportunistic observations around the release area, which allows us to track and evaluate the birds’ adaptation (observing how they move and disperse, whether they begin feeding on fruits and seeds in their natural state, how they interact with the existing population, etc.). As the birds gradually adapt and learn to function with less dependence on the resources we provide, we initiate the "emancipation" process, during which we progressively reduce the amount of food offered, further promoting and reinforcing their learning and path to independence. Generally, we completely wean the birds 6 to 9 months after the release, so that they are entirely free to disperse to nearby regions, begin breeding (from around the age of 5), and contribute to establishing a viable population as soon as possible.
This, in broad terms, is how the captive breeding and repopulation project for the scarlet macaw—promoted by Asoprolapa and managed in collaboration with Wild Sun Rescue Center—works. I believe it is extremely important to highlight the significance of initiatives like this, which have contributed, and continue to contribute, not only to the conservation of their flagship species but also to the ecosystem of which it is a part. I hope you have found this post interesting, and as always, I encourage you to leave your comments below in the designated section. Until next time!
Roger Valls Martínez
BIBLIOGRAPHY
González & Lobo, 1999 González, F., & Lobo, S. (1999). Breve descripción del estado de los recursos forestales de Costa Rica [Informe]. Sistema Nacional de Áreas de Conservación, Ministerio del Ambiente y Energía (MINAE).
Vaughan, C. (2019). Conservación de la lapa roja (Ara macao) con manejo in situ en el Pacífico Central de Costa Rica. Revista de Ciencias Ambientales, 53(2), 166–188.
Pérez, E. (1998). Evaluación del hábitat disponible para la guacamaya roja (Ara macao), en Petén, Guatemala [Tesis de grado, Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala].
Wright, T. F., Toft, C. A., Enkerlin‐Hoeflich, E., Gonzalez‐Elizondo, J., Albornoz, M., Rodríguez‐Ferraro, A., Rojas‐Suárez, F., Sanz, V., Trujillo, A., Beissinger, S. R., Berovides, V., Gálvez, X., Brice, A. T., Joyner, K., Eberhard, J., Gilardi, J., Koening, S. E., Stoleson, S., Martuscelli, P., ... Wiley, J. W. (2001). Nest poaching in neotropical parrots. Conservation Biology, 15, 710–720.
Calvo-Obando, A., & Ortíz-Malavassi, E. (2012). Fragmentación de la cobertura forestal en Costa Rica durante los periodos 1997–2000 y 2000–2005. Revista Forestal Mesoamericana Kurú, 9(22), 10–21.
Artavia-Durán, E. (2018). Tamaño poblacional y censado de nidos de la especie Ara macao (Psittacidae) en la Península de Nicoya, Costa Rica. Zeledonia, 22(1), 33–43.
Monge, O., Schmidt, K., Vaughan, C., & Gutiérrez‐Espeleta, G. (2016). Genetic patterns and conservation of the Scarlet Macaw (Ara macao) in Costa Rica. Conservation Genetics, 17, 745–750.
Arias Vega, V. E. (2020). Evaluación de la reintroducción como herramienta de conservación para la vida silvestre: Caso de la lapa roja (Ara macao) en el sureste de la Península de Nicoya, Puntarenas, Costa Rica [Tesis de maestría, Universidad de Costa Rica].
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