Travel Tips

Upwards of 25% of macaws will pluck their feathers in captivity. They do this in part because they are monogomous. Couples mate for life. Without a mate they may bond with their owner. And if their owner leaves them, they suffer the effects of a broken heart.

After his owners realized macaws don't make good pets, he was given to the Macaw Landing Foundation in Portland, Oregon for a safe place to live out his days. Unfortunately, he never stopped plucking his feathers yet.

This fellow is a little red in the face... blushing is unique to several types of macaws.

Thanks to deforestation of the rainforests of South America and the illegal pet trade, this is one of the few macaws of this type left alive. There are only about 300 in the wild.

By supporting non-profit endeavors such as the Macaw Landing Foundation, you will be supporting efforts to reintroduce captive-bred animals into the wild.

Besides being wild animals that are apt to bite their owners or others, some types of macaws make a living breaking into brazil nut pods in the wild. That is what is hanging above these macaws. The pod is about the size of a small coconut. Inside the brazil nuts are jammed in there like orange slices. Macaws are master nut crackers.

A macaw of this type nearly took of my pinky... not so bad as all that. That bird, Pepper, belonged to a man that lived in Ketchikan, Alaska.

That's one positive side of this flight... these birds got the chance to become a couple. Gives them a chance to feel... "like macaws". In the wild they would have had the chance to match up with their own kind and propagate their species. By participating in the illegal pet trade, you are breaking up families. And, their memories are long. These birds lives many, many decades.

On November 22, 1997 I went up to Waldensbooks at the Plaza in Ketchikan and bought Animal Speak: The Spiritual & Magical Powers of Creatures Great & Small by Ted Andrews after a long perusal of all the books to offer. Before I drove home I went to visit a friend from work, Shelley. She was renting a room with a KPD Police Officer whose name I have forgotten, but I remember his parrot was named Pepper. And Pepper decided that night to take a chunk out of my finger. I survived with a little blood loss and a tiny scar that is still visible.

Reading the book that night I was reminded that totems chose the shaman, not the other way around. Many shaman would survive the attack of an animal, and gain its magic as a result.

Ted Andrews says, "Some parrots have been taught to mimic humans. Because of this ability, the parrot has been considered a link between the human kingdom and the bird kingdom. Parrots... could be likened to ambassadors, diplomats... They have a magic that will enable you to understand others more effectively. They can help you awaken a sense of diplomacy."

I could immediately relate back a specific situation in my life. I did need to learn diplomacy! I believe we can find the answers we look for in nature. I believe I have much to learn even from a parrot/macaw. But mostly... I think they belong in the wild. I wish all "adoptions" could be virtual, rather than having more birds harvested from the wild for "pets" that will more than likely soon be abandoned.

By the way, quite a few images of "parrots" are actually macaws. They don't have feathers around their eyes, and they have the long, long tails.