National Geographic Cape Parrot Story

[Eurycerus]

Cape parrots are threatened by the wholesale degradation of South Africa’s Afromontane forest patches, their persecution as crop pest, and their subsequent introduction to the wild-caught bird trade. By the 1960s and 70s, the remaining Cape parrots had very little of their specialist food, the yellowwood fruit, and the remaining local populations turned on pecan orchards that had been established throughout their range. With very few large yellowwood trees remaining, government officials in South Africa decided to target all the dead and dying yellowwood trees remaining in the landscape, while regulating the removal of large, living yellowwoods through a permit system. This precipitated the systematic removal of ancient Cape parrot nest cavities used by multiple generations, thus pulling the rug from under this Afromontane forest specialist. There are now less than 1,000 remaining in the wild, all of which are under threat from Psittacine Beak and Feather Disease (PBFD) epidemic that we have been studying for the last 3 years. PBFD is a debilitating circovirus that strips the parrot of all feathers and eventually breaks the beak. The virus attacks the immune system and is killing the last-remaining Cape parrots every autumn. We need to do everything we can to guarantee that these shining, amazing parrots are screeching loudly above the yellowwood forests of South Africa forever.

http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com ... nerations/

Poor babies. I didn't realize in what bad shape they are in.

[alekha]

i saw the video... this is too bad, because, i never heard about it. planting exotc pine plants inside the forests, and excess cutting of yellowwood trees is aganist the nature, not only for living animals but also for we humans. we r the part of nature, and no person have rights to destroy our own land & species. they must change their system as, these harmful trees must not plant, if so must be totally separate and away from existed natural forests, but this may too again can create harmful gases in atmosphere. so they must be aware of this fact. and really felt very important on your post. At least, i got a chance to post my thoughts. hope my words can reach in their ears from your help. please don't mind with my spellings and any grammatical mistakes.