Macaws

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Macaws

The Nature website, contributed by the PBS Media Company, focuses on our natural environment and wildlife. For instance, it includes animals, insects, plants and other species. Nature has been producing videos, sound tracks and encyclopedia books for 25 years. Furthermore, it started to do more topics that provided natural conservation education for this world. “Saving Macaws” is the one of the main projects of Nature. In its article, “The Real Macaws”, it has divided into three parts. The first one is Introduction. It stated their conception and mentioned that macaws are a seriously endangered species now. They started a program in Eco-Tourism to protect macaws. The second part, Endangered Tropical Jewel, roughly introduces macaws’ shape, size and weight, but details of their living environment and foods. It also tells the reader about that some species of macaws have become extinct. The final, "Packing For Conservation”, is mainly beaming on macaw’s habitat, which has been destroyed, and their conservation actions.

When I was child, I remember that I saw macaws many times somewhere in Taiwan. Maybe I saw them in zoos or in some shows. But I have never noticed that they were declining in numbers steeply. Through this class, I started to recall my memory while I was searching for some related topics; somehow, I was surprised that I had not seen them for about 10 years, except in zoos and in some documentary videos. I supposed that it might be longer than I thought. However, it is time to acquaint myself with them by my researched website – Nature. I am going to pick two kinds from the 17 species’ of macaws and talk about their profiles and their living environment.

Macaws, middle or large shape birds, dwell in many areas and most species inhabit tropical, lowlands or nearby rivers. The largest macaws will grow up to 34 inches and the smallest is only about 10. A mature macaw will weigh less than 4 pounds. All macaws are covered with very bright feathers in different colors. For example, Great Green Macaws have a light green color feather on its body and sea blue color on its wings, and Blue-Gold Macaws sport a sky blue color and gold (yellow) on their stomach, and a white face. They are all about at age 2-5 of children’s intelligence. They can perform some simple actions and imitate different sounds. Unfortunately, these colorful, cute and smart birds are endangered, and some of them have been approved as extinct species. These situations’ cause is that their home is disappearing at an unbelievable speed become of human destruction.

In the article, used as my reference, if mentioned that the macaws confront two main issues which are losing habitat and pet trading. In my view, humans’ population has been in exponential growth since industrial revolution. I assume that our resources will probably growth in the same way. Some resources can not be produced by us so we need to get them from nature. In addition, industrial pollution and global warming are reasons for macaws’s destruction. In an earlier era, our government did not have a complete law to protect animals, which accounted for the illegal pet trade was thriving and then macaws shrunk very quickly.

It is never too late for those endangered macaws to make them survive on the earth, but it is too late for the extinct one. I believe that we should build up and pass the animal conservation laws as fast as we can. Second, we can breed macaws by our technology to make them increase in number and teach them to get accustomed to the wild environment. Third, we have to stop overexploitation. Fourth, we must to try to downsize our population and natural resources needs. Finally, I would like to say we should not only educate our next generation but also new conservation thinking.


Reference

Nature. (1997-2007). The Real Macaws, Retrieved on October 22nd, 2007, from http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/realmacaws/ecotourism.html

Rudolph, E. K. (n.d.). The Endangered Great Green Macaw Ara ambigua. Retrieved October 22nd, 2007, from http://www.drellenrudolph.com/costarica/macaws.html

San Juan-La Selva Biological corridor. (2001). The Great Green Macaw: en route to extinction. Retrieved on October 22nd, 2007, from http://www.lapaverde.or.cr/lapa/index_eng_lapa.htm

Barry. (n.d.). Macaws on the Endangered Species List. Retrieved on October 22nd, 2007, from http://www.exoticbird.com/endangered_macaws.html

Ney, C. (1999). Endangered Species: Blue and Gold Macaws. Retrieved on October 22nd, 2007, from http://neyture.info/teachered/endanger/reports/birds/macaw/macaw.html

Wikipedia (October 19th, 2007). Macaws: Blue and Gold Macaws. wikipedia.org Retrieved October 23rd, 2007. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macaw

National Geographic. (n.d.). Macaws. Retrieved on October 22nd, 2007, from http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birds/macaws.html