Our Beloved Dad and his Passion for Wildlife

Our beloved dad, or papa, as we used to call him was a lover of wildlife. From when I was as young as a year old in 1983, it was also the year that the British wildlife documentary, the Natural World was broadcasted and not only would you find him watching the programme but recording it so he could watch it repeatedly and create what would be an extensive wildlife video collection. His heart was full of love and compassion, not only for people but also for animals. 

At the end of 2019 he fell sick suddenly with flu like symptoms, even though he recovered from this, it became apparent that it had damaged his kidneys. During the battle to reverse the kidney damage, the aggressive treatment resulted in drug toxicity and he left behind his family on 21 March 2020 with my mum by his side. We strongly believe that it was Covid-19 that had damaged his healthy kidneys and there is now research to suggest that Covid-19 can permanently damage organs and in particular, kidneys. 

Trying to live life without him has been unbearable and I have still not been able to face visiting his grave. For this reason, I was keen to do something in his memory as we approach a year of his passing to help and celebrate the love he had for the natural world.

Macaw Mountain Bird Park of Copán in Honduras

My heart had been drawn to Copán since I first heard about this magical place from a backpacker during my travels in 2019 when he described hundreds of Scarlet Macaws free flying by the ruins. Unfortunately, the circumstances were such that I was unable to make it to Copán at that time but against all odds, I am here in the middle of a pandemic, listening to the hardships being faced by the park due to the lack of tourism which the world has suffered from since Covid-19 took hold. 

Their greatest need at present is satisfying the appetites of the 350 feathered friends at the park and the many released birds still partially under their care. The birds eat a diet mostly of fruits, vegetables and seeds. Even though those things are not very expensive in Honduras, the sheer quantity of food needed on a daily basis quickly adds up and the funding of the park driven by tourism is becoming impossible. 

A Paralysed Scarlet Macaw Named Guu 

On the cover photo of this page is Guu. Guu’s story and condition has made me very emotional over the past few days and it’s important for me to tell his story.

Guu along with fourteen birds were confiscated by Law Enforcement and the Institute of Forestry Conservation in 2017. Eleven of the fifteen birds had Rickets which is a disease of the bony growth plate affecting young growing animals which is caused by dietary deficiency. The entire group belonging to the same owner had a very bad diet which consisted of sunflower seeds day after day and fruit only once a week according to their caretaker. The lack of good animal care has resulted in the fact that Guu can never be released or be able to reproduce. Guu will require a special diet and special care for the rest of his life. 

A Tribute

Where there is sadness, there is hope. During our first visit, we were informed by the Special Projects Manager that they had found five Macaw eggs that day, three of the Scarlet Macaw and two of the Great Green Macaw which will become part of their release programme. 

As a tribute to our dad, one of these Scarlet Macaws will be named after him and released into the wild when ready to do so. The Scarlet Macaw is endangered with only 20,000 - 50,000 recorded in the wild worldwide, the annual release is a monumental moment for the Macaw population. 

They also need help to continue their release programme and its supporting projects with a backlog (!) of lively macaws that need to be released from last year. Imagine a room full of toddlers stuck in an apartment for a year during lockdown ready to be released into the great outdoors - they are raring to go!

Please watch this video to understand the full work of Macaw Mountain Bird Park and its plea for support: https://youtu.be/ni6Xl92rAxA

I’d be most grateful if you could contribute to this noble cause. No donation will be considered too small, even a pound is 33 Honduran Lempiras.