Early last month the HARI team had the pleasure of extending an invitation to Duaro Mayorga Hernández, Manzanillo site manager of the Ara Project / Proyecto Ara to take part in an educational stage under HARI’s Conservation Networking program at our research facility.

During the course of the visit, Duaro took part in hands-on technical handling skills, health monitoring examinations, and biometric measurements of both adult and young psittacines as-well-as nursery management skills and avian nutritional seminars.

Duaro along with Steve Milpacher, director of operations at the World Parrot Trust gave presentations to our local avian community (Quebec) about Macaw Conservation and the work being done in Costa Rica to re-populate the two native macaw species of Costa Rica: the critically endangered Great-green or Buffon’s Macaw (Ara ambiguus) and the Scarlet Macaw (Ara macao).

At the end of the night, Mark Hagen announced donation of $4000.00 from the Hagen Family Foundation to the World Parrot Trust to support efforts for this amazing project.

We are at the ground level for the most successful Macaw conservation re-introduction programs in the world! exclaimed Mark, about the work Duaro and the Ara Project are accomplishing.

Now back home, in Costa Rica, Duaro extended a word of thanks to Mark and the HARI team; “I learned many new things that I will be implementing here at The Ara Project in Manzanillo. I also appreciate meeting many new wonderful people who aided me and showed me so many things. Please thank all the staff from Hagen and HARI who contributed to making my trip an exceptional experience and rest assured that all the new skills I learned will greatly contribute to conserving the Great Green macaws here in Costa Rica.“

It was a great pleasure having Duaro learn and visit with us! We look forward to seeing him again. Continued success to The ARA Project with their conservation efforts in Costa Rica, Manzanillo!

The ARA Project