The Puerto Rican Parrot / La cotorra Puertorriqueña
The Puerto Rican Parrot Recovery Program is an effort to conserve, protect and manage wild and captive parrots in order to downlist the species from endangered to threatened.
The Iguaca, as the Taino Indians named it, is endemic to the island. In the wild, there are two groups of Puerto Rican Parrots. The oldest group is in El Yunque National Forest. The second group of parrots is in the Rio Abajo State Forest.
Video courtesy of José Gonzalez Díaz
The goal of this program is to repopulate one more area to have three selfsustaining groups of parrots. In captivity, there are about 200 birds between two aviaries. This program is a cooperative effort between the US Fish and Wildlife Service, US Forest Service, the Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources and the US Geological Survey, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and private partners.Mississippi and North Carolina State Universities are also active partners in the recovery efforts for the species. Interagency cooperation is essential for the successful recovery of the species.
The Puerto Rican Parrot is the only native parrot species in Puerto Rico and the only one remaining in the US. As of November 2006 there are 200 parrots counting both captive and wild birds. The Service periodically surveys the wild population. The wild population at the Caribbean National Forest may be declining and consists of less than 25 individuals. The Puerto Rican Parrot was listed as an endangered species in 1967.
Environmental Assessment -- (pdf) (word)
Reintroduction of the Puerto Rican Parrot / Río Abajo Commonwealth Forest Puerto Rico
What we do:
- eproduce Puerto Rican Parrots in captivity.
- Release Puerto Rican Parrots into the wild.
- Monitor the Puerto Rican Parrot wild flock in El Yunque National Forest by conducting population surveys and monitoring nesting activitites.
- Design and conduct research to develop and refine techniques for the reintroduction of captive-raised parrots into the wild.
- Coordinate interagency efforts to protect nests and develop strategies to deal with predators and competitors.
- Provide Technical Assistance to the Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environment Resources through exchange of technology and expertise with the José L. Vivaldi Aviary.
- Promote international technology interchange by training biologists and technicians from different countries on the techniques used in Puerto Rican Parrot recovery program.
