Message from a Macaw

Mario sat on a tree branch in the rain forest he called home. But instead of singing a beautiful song or enjoying the sunshine, he was angry and frustrated at what was going on around him. People wanted to see the parrots and other animals that lived on his island. Mario used to be alright with that. He had liked watching the people. Sometimes he even tried to imitate what they said.

But more and more, it seemed that people who came to rainforest didn’t understand its importance. They looked at it, but it didn’t hold the same meaning. Many of them didn’t leave the rainforest looking the way it had when they’d entered. Mario was tired of seeing trash littered all over the ground. Some people even built campfires to warm their lunch. The thought of a fire was extremely frightening to Mario. He couldn’t help wondering what terrible things might happen if someone didn’t put out their fire well enough and the majestic trees burned down. He didn’t want to lose his home. And some of his friends couldn’t move as quickly as he could. What if someone was trapped in the fire?

Some nights Mario and the other macaws who lived in his neighborhood would gather garbage. But they didn’t know what to do with it. Birds didn’t have garbage cans. So now, they had a huge pile of it, and no idea how to get rid of it. Their only hope was that some kind human might see it and feel bad that it was there and find someone to haul it off.

Mario had been practicing his English and was trying to figure out how to say take it away, but he learned most of his pronunciations from humans. Empty water bottles, candy wrappers and food containers were littered around the landscape. Now the sight of the flowers didn’t seem as bright and lovely.

Sometimes Mario squawked and flew around flapping his wings when visitors to the rainforest threw garbage on the ground. Occasionally someone would pick up what they threw down. But usually, they didn’t understand what Mario was trying to tell him. They just thought that he was a nuisance. Some people even called him terrible names. One person even went so far as to say that the nasty bird should be captured and taken out of the forest before it hurt someone.

Mario had no plans of injuring anyone. He just wanted people to be responsible for their actions. It made no sense to him that people couldn’t see what they were doing to the lovely rainforest. Not only were they taking away from the beauty of the forest, but they were endangering the lives of the birds and other animals that lived there. Some of the garbage that was left behind was dangerous and could cut an animal or they might get caught or stuck in it.

After a while of being frustrated and angry in his tree as he watched more people throw trash on the ground, Mario decided to fry to a more remote part of the island. He needed some time away where he wouldn’t be seeing everything that was making him more upset. He lay down by the river and watched as a frog jumped on lily pads. For a few minutes, he was able to smile. But then he noticed some garbage floating in the river. There was no escaping the destruction that was happening around him. He covered his face with his wings and began to cry.

Mario lay on the ground for a long time weeping about the destruction of his home and the humans who were stripping it of its beauty and security. He wished there was something he could do to make things better.