Brazil adventure gives local parrot-lovers new perspective
San Juan Capistrano – Omar and Carolyn Gonzalez may have dedicated their lives to teaching others about rare and exotic birds, but a recent trip to Brazil provided the two with an education of their own.
The Gonzalezes, owners of Zoomars Petting Zoo in San Juan and Omar’s Exotic Birds in Lake Forest and Placentia, spent 17 days in South America, helping save endangered birds whose existence is threatened through loss of habitat and illegal trapping and smuggling. The two were invited on the trip by Mark and Marie Stafford of Parrots International, who they met a few years back when the Gonzalezes’ pet Hyacinth Macaws, Xena and Blue, were “married” for an Animal Planet special.
“They actually go into the wild and really help these birds,” Carolyn said. “People talk about saving the planet, but how many are actually going into the wild and really helping these birds.”
The trip was a year in the making because the participants had to get the permission of private property owners whose land the group would be visiting. It turned into an adventure for the Gonzalezes who bounced around portions of Brazil’s extensive rain forests in rented private planes, eventually taking 12 flights in the 17-day trip.
“We landed in pastures where cows were running out of the way,” said Carolyn. “I felt like I was on an episode of survivor.”
The trip offered Omar a chance to expand his bird breeding expertise and to assist with Parrot International’s efforts to save endangered species.
“We go out there and are able to take what we know about captivity (and), in turn, can learn from the birds in the wild,” Omar said.
The two were also able to see rare species such as the Spix Macaw – only 70 of which remain in captivity – and the Lear’s Macaw – only 50 of which remain in activity.
“They are like the Cadillacs of birds,” Omar said. “It’s something I’ve wished to do for 25 years.”
The growing threat to the birds’ environment presented by private interests were also apparent on the trip, Carolyn said, with areas where birds nested only a few years earlier now reduced to ash.
“We saw how tough it is for their animals,” Omar said. “You see these hundreds of acres being burned every day to make way for cattle ranching.”
The Gonzalezes hope to spread word of their trip during presentations Carolyn puts on for local school children, camps at Zoomars and slideshows they plan to post on the Zoomars and Omars Exotic Birds Web sites.
“Let’s help the ones who don’t have people come every day and feed them carrots,” Carolyn said. “It’s tough out there.”
Information: www.zoomars.com or www.omarsexoticbirds.com