Against all odds, a youth from Puerto Rican parrot survived an attack by a red tail boain it Maricao State Forestthanks to the quick action of a biologist from Federal Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS, in English).
In a publication on Facebook, the USFWS Caribbean Ecological Services Field Office reported this Thursday that, “after a great scandal of alarming vocalizations by the parrots, who were all looking in the same direction,” the biologist Raul Correain charge of the reintroduction project of the species in Maricao, He was able to detect “in time” the chick trapped by the snake on the top of a bamboo.
“The biologist’s immediate action of cutting the bamboo allowed the boa to release the juvenile parrot.”highlighted the federal agency.
According to the USFWS, the surviving parrot had only been in the forest for a month, having flown from one of the wild nests during the recent breeding season.
“Once rescued, she spent a day in the facility’s hospital to ensure her well-being and was released the next day. “Maricao biologists have seen her flying through the forest with her parents again.”added the agency, which thanked its staff for their work.
The post does not specify when the attack occurred.
For the Puerto Rican parrot (Amazona vittata), red-tailed boas (boa constrictor constrictor) –an invasive species– have become a major threat.
The reintroduction of Puerto Rican parrots in Maricao began in 2015, with the purpose of establishing a third population in the wild. The other two populations are in the El Yunque National Forest and the Rio Abajo State Forest. The Puerto Rican parrot is in danger of extinction.