Birdworld has been able to home a pair of critically endangered Blue Throated Macaws as a result of the animal park’s temporary closure fundraising campaign.

The birds, of which there are only a few hundred left in the wild, have been welcomed to their new aviary at Birdworld in Farnham after having previously been residents at Paignton Zoo since 2012 and 2019, both having been hatched in zoos in England.

The new aviary, which can be found at the entrance of the park, has been funded by the generous donation of Susan Davies and other loyal supporters of the attraction, and will enable Birdworld to protect and care for the critically endangered species. The Blue Throated Macaws will become Birdworld’s most at-risk macaw species.

Duncan Bolton, Curator at Birdworld, said:

“Conservation of endangered species is at the heart of everything we do at Birdworld, so it was an easy decision for us to offer this pair of Blue Throated Macaws a home. We have been very fortunate to have been supported financially by several donors, including Susan, who’s very kind contribution has allowed us to put in place the necessary facilities and accommodation so that we can home these threatened birds, despite this period of financial difficulty.

“These two birds come to us as a bonded pair and so we are hoping that we will be able to encourage them to breed and contribute to worldwide efforts to prevent this species from disappearing entirely.

“Everyone at Birdworld is excited to welcome this pair to our collection and we’d like to extend a huge thank you to all of those who contributed to our crowdfunding campaign. We wouldn’t have been able to home and breed these Blue Throated Macaws without your support.”

Birdworld has a well-established conservation programme and fund which is used to support local and international conservation initiatives for the protection of threatened species.

The pair of Macaws come from Paignton Zoo in Devon. Jo Gregson, Bird Curator at Paignton Zoo said:

“We’ve had a strong, longstanding relationship with Birdworld and have worked closely with Duncan and the team on many occasions before. We are thankful that they are happy to work with us on homing and breeding these critically endangered birds.”