RoY-G-Biv

The scarlet Macaw is a beautiful creature. Multicolored – red, yellow, and blue member of parrots, and looking much like one – the bird is native to Central and South America. This bird has been recognized as endangered in 2019, with less than 1,500 left that are known.

Part of the reason there are so few left is due to wildlife trafficking, which impacts elephants, rhinos, and pangolins – animals that are sought after for ivory or something else of value. For the ivory, the market is being flooded with synthetic ivory, made by 3D printing. It has varying levels of success, and due to the similarities, poachers who are caught can claim that their ivory is synthetic.

This is not the same for the scarlet Macaw. Scarlet Macaws are hunted in order to sell them or their chicks in illegal exotic animal trading. Fun fact: my current state, Ohio, is notorious for the 2011 shooting of more than 50 exotic animals due to an owner simultaneously opening all the cage doors prior to committing suicide. Prior to the event, the laws regarding exotic animal ownership were very lax. These laws still vary from locale to locale – so check them before you buy one! But also, just don’t buy one. Exotic animals have needs very different from your average pet, and it is unlikely you’ll be prepared to house or feed an exotic animal as it grows from the approachable size it was when you bought it from a shady farm or internet auction to adulthood.

Needless to say, since the macaw is a parrot, it is more manageable – eats nuts, berries, leaves, and seeds. It lives beyond 70 years, so unless you’re a young’un when you get one – be prepared to rehome it when you’re on death’s door. Most importantly, there’s a difference in wild macaws like the scarlet macaw, and ones meant for you to own in your home. CHECK FOR IT.

The scarlet macaw in particular is extremely noisy, and keeps it up for a while.

Speaking of, have you ever been so bored that you made a list of ways you can hurt yourself without dying, and ways that you can die? Well, be prepared to entertain the macaw for 2-5 hours a day. Maybe get a second bird to keep it company. If they’re bored or neglected, they’ll self-mutilate. Kind of like the teenager that cuts themselves just because they’re curious.

Since they’re illegal, be prepared to spend about $2,000-4,000 on them. If you’re rich, I suggest you donate that money to agencies dedicated to deterring this kind of activity, or buy the bird and/or take it to a rescue agency, which will be able to care for it and return it to its home in Central or South America.

There’s a lot of different macaws. Scarlets are centrally red, which transitions to yellow, and blue at the tips. Other macaws may be more green or blue, with differing color changes. Now, I know polyamory is becoming a more acceptable lifestyle choice for many. This is great as now people can be open about it and not be judged. It is certainly difficult to navigate at the partnership level. Unlike polyamorous human and other animal couples, macaws are monogamous. When they’re mating they get very aggressive. They’ll lay 2-3 eggs in a tree and incubate them for 5 weeks. Within 3 months, baby macaws are able to leave the nest, and then their parents a year later. They’re not full grown until about 5 years though, which for an animal with a life span about as long as a human, is really fast. What would happen if humans were adults at 5? Actually, don’t go there – we’d have a lot more people in jail just due to poor impulse control and a lack of knowledge and comprehension about the law.

Thanks for coming to the random fact dumping. Own and acquire your pets responsibly, ethically, and legally. They’re alive, not plastic.