By David Waugh, Correspondent, Loro Parque Fundación

In 2007 the Brazilian NGO, Aquasis, conducted museum research and exhaustive field expeditions in its historically reported distribution in north-east Brazil. The search was instigated due to the alarming decline in the area of occurrence of the Grey-breasted Parakeet (Pyrrhura griseipectus), caused mainly by habitat loss and the illegal traffic of wild-caught individuals. At least 16 locations were considered to be possible refuges for the species, but at that time, only one population was found, in the humid upland forests of the Serra de Baturité in Ceará State. As a consequence, the Grey-breasted Parakeet was included in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species as ‘Critically Endangered’ and from that year the Loro Parque Fundación has supported the project of Aquasis to save this species from extinction. The Zoological Society for the Conservation of Species and Populations (ZGAP) has also been an early supporter.

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