The first Spix's Macaw born at Pairi Daiza is a female.
This rare bird will one day become an indispensable breeder to support the world's fragile population.
On 21 September, Pairi Daiza witnessed a historic birth: the very first Spix's Macaw born at its Centre for the Conservation of Endangered Birds. This emblematic species, classified as "extinct in the wild" by the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature), was one step closer to survival thanks to the breeding programme in which Pairi Daiza and the Pairi Daiza Foundation have been involved since 2018.
A few weeks later, new information confirms the significance of this success: the chick is a female.
In this 17 minute documentary we show the different challenges and steps leading up to the choice to name her Perla.
Gender determined by DNA test
The sex of young parrots cannot be formally determined visually. This requires a DNA test, which uses a feather. The caretakers therefore had to wait until the chick's feathers were sufficiently developed to very carefully remove a few and send them to the laboratory. The result has now been confirmed: the little Spix's Macaw born at Pairi Daiza is a female.
The teams have named her Perla, which is the French name of the animation character Jewel from the film Rio, which tells the story of Blu, the fictional last male Spix's Macaw and helped create global awareness about the fragility of this now mythical species. A symbolic reference to a young female that today, far beyond the Park, embodies a new hope for biodiversity.
Growth under close supervision
From the moment she hatched, Perla was closely monitored by the Park's caretakers, who specialise in rare birds. For the first few days, she was hand-fed every two hours, day and night, and then at longer intervals.
Perla has now reached her adult weight and is entering a transition phase. She still gets her hand-feeding formula from the caretakers each afternoon, but is slowly starting to eat seeds and dried fruits. Within three weeks, she should be eating full adult food.
Gentle socialisation
Perla is growing up in contact with other young parrots. For the past two weeks,she has been socialising with other baby macaws of different species. This phase is essential for her behavioural development: she learns the social codes, autonomy and self-confidence necessary for a future breeder. And she is developing well.
"Like all young parrots her age, Perla tenses her wings and she is flapping them very quickly, almost like a hummingbird. These exercises are essential to prepare her for flying. She has already tried a few attempts at flying, which are still awkward, but she is making progress every day ," explained Thomas Biagi, one of her caretakers.
With Perla, Pairi Daiza has taken another step in its commitment to protect the most endangered species.
It is a concrete, vibrant step, full of hope: that of a young female growing up, learning to fly and embodying the future of one of the rarest parrots in the world.
Perla will not be released back into the wild, but one day she will become an indispensable breeder to strengthen a global population that is still vulnerable.
At Pairi Daiza, 12 Spix's Macaws are monitored daily in state-of-the-art breeding facilities away from the public to preserve their sensitivity and tranquillity.
Unique in Europe, visitors can also observe in the aviary of the Pairi Daiza Abbey-Farmhouse three other Spix's Macaws, who live separately from the breeding programme.
Johan Vreys