Throughout history there have been different traditions related to the animal world. Some of them, so rooted in the culture of each country that they still exist today. While there are beliefs as harmless as the one that the nighttime chirping of crickets attracts good luck and prosperity, others can become harmful to the health and well-being of animals.
This is the case of a popular belief from Mexico in which it is claimed that, using a hummingbird, a small species of apodiform bird, one can achieve attract love or retain a partner. To do this, they use stuffed hummingbirds to make amulets or moorings. A tradition that the Federal Environmental Protection Agency (Profepa) warns of its negative effects for both Mexican fauna and flora.
To address this situation and help the hummingbirds that have been injured because of this tradition, Catia Lattoufa Mexican woman, made her home a “Hummingbird Hospital” in which he has attended and cared for them for more than 10 years. As explained to the content creator @elojodemu, there is a conviction that “If you have a hummingbird hanging on your chest, you will have money, luck and a partner“.
((H2: Cattia Lattouf rescues and cares for about 300 hummingbirds a year, an endangered species)
Although this belief is part of the popular tradition of some populations, there is no scientific evidence to support it and, due to this situation, the Mexican earwig hummingbird (Doricha eliza) has been cataloged in danger of extinction by the Official Mexican Standard (NOM-059). A situation caused both by their illegal hunting to carry out rituals and by the destruction of their natural habitat.
For this reason, Catia Lattouf is responsible for rescue birds that have been captured or fallen from their nests and to care for them so that they can return to nature. In total, Lattouf assures that helps about 300 hummingbirds a yearleaving them free once they do not require your care. A task for which you need to use an average of 251 euros (5,000 pesos) per week to buy the food they need.
According to the content creator, Milagro Urquieta, this species should be fed every 20 minutes and, to keep track of their evolution, Lattouf separates them into different boxes. At the end of each day, the woman counts how many copies she has in her home. At the moment, lives with 99 hummingbirds in his room, where he has created a space with vegetation to improve the well-being and quality of life of his guests.
A vital goal that came after being diagnosed with colon cancer
This vocation to care for and treat injured hummingbirds emerged in 2011, specifically when was diagnosed with colon cancer and went to the tomb of Saint Charbel, a Lebanese monk and priest known for his life of extreme penitence. This saint is famous for granting miraclesespecially those related to the physical health of seriously ill patients.
There, Lattouf asked God for a sign and, on that same day, a little hummingbird he named Gucci appeared in his window. From then on, he began a career dedicated to caring for this endangered species. “I donated my businesses, closed everything, and I started studying functional medicine“, he explained. Once qualified, he began to provide his services at no cost and became a reference in the community of bird lovers in Latin America.
Such is his popularity due to his great care of birds that even receives patients from the Iztacala Faculty of Higher Studies from the National Autonomous University of Mexico. A work that not only helps the preservation of an endangered species, but also helped it while She was fighting cancer and loneliness after the death of her husband.