Protect our Parrot
Preservar Nuestros Pajaro
(Puerto Rican Parrot)
The Puerto Rican Parrot Lives in El Yunque rainforest and eats various plants there. It has been observed eating up to 60 different types of food.
In critical condition, at most about 34-40 left alive in wild
Threatened by:
Due to dam building, rivers that bring the forest vital water are getting polluted. This is both harming the parrot directly and destroying its habitat.
When roads are built, the habitat of the parrot is both damaged and made more accesible to poachers and polluters.
Humans think the Puerto Rican Parrot is cute! That's why some humans remove parrots from the forest to serve as pets. This is not good.
When the Puerto Rican Parrot was endemic, they could repopulate after a hurricane. Now one hurricane can kill all that remain. This is not good. This almost happened when Hurricane Hugo struck.
Effects of extinction:
A food source of red-tailed hawks, broad winged hawks, falcons, and thrashers disappears. A food source of rats and mongooses, the eggs of the parrot, also disappears. Also, this is a species which spreads the seeds of various plants. If it disappears, one of the methods by which some plants reproduce will vanish.
When this happens, the entire forest will slide into decline and towards death.
Ecological importance:
As said by the United States government (National Park Service) in "Why Save Endangered Species",
"None of these creatures exists in a vacuum. All living things are part of a complex, often delicately balanced network called the biosphere. The earth’s biosphere, in turn, is composed of countless ecosystems, which include plants and animals and their physical environments. No one knows how the extinction of organisms will affect the other members of its ecosystem, but the removal of a single species can set off a chain reaction affecting many others."
If this parrot disappears completely, it could cause the predators that eat it, some of which are endangered themselves, to disappear. The disappearance of the parrot would also hinder the plants that depended on it to spread their seed far and wide and to prune it.
In addition, the Puerto Rican parrot is an important part of Puerto Rico's history. It was once one of the most prominent birds on the island, and a cultural symbol. Now it is almost dead. It would truly be a pity for such a bird to die, as it has adapted to eat many different types of food and help plants reproduce, unlike that stupid panda.
In critical condition, at most about 34-40 left alive in wild
Threatened by:
- Deforestation
- Hydroelectric development
Due to dam building, rivers that bring the forest vital water are getting polluted. This is both harming the parrot directly and destroying its habitat.
- Road building
When roads are built, the habitat of the parrot is both damaged and made more accesible to poachers and polluters.
- Kidnapping
Humans think the Puerto Rican Parrot is cute! That's why some humans remove parrots from the forest to serve as pets. This is not good.
- Hurricanes
When the Puerto Rican Parrot was endemic, they could repopulate after a hurricane. Now one hurricane can kill all that remain. This is not good. This almost happened when Hurricane Hugo struck.
Effects of extinction:
A food source of red-tailed hawks, broad winged hawks, falcons, and thrashers disappears. A food source of rats and mongooses, the eggs of the parrot, also disappears. Also, this is a species which spreads the seeds of various plants. If it disappears, one of the methods by which some plants reproduce will vanish.
When this happens, the entire forest will slide into decline and towards death.
Ecological importance:
As said by the United States government (National Park Service) in "Why Save Endangered Species",
"None of these creatures exists in a vacuum. All living things are part of a complex, often delicately balanced network called the biosphere. The earth’s biosphere, in turn, is composed of countless ecosystems, which include plants and animals and their physical environments. No one knows how the extinction of organisms will affect the other members of its ecosystem, but the removal of a single species can set off a chain reaction affecting many others."
If this parrot disappears completely, it could cause the predators that eat it, some of which are endangered themselves, to disappear. The disappearance of the parrot would also hinder the plants that depended on it to spread their seed far and wide and to prune it.
In addition, the Puerto Rican parrot is an important part of Puerto Rico's history. It was once one of the most prominent birds on the island, and a cultural symbol. Now it is almost dead. It would truly be a pity for such a bird to die, as it has adapted to eat many different types of food and help plants reproduce, unlike that stupid panda.