ASUNCION, Paraguay - The Asuncion zoo is desperately seeking a mate for Coco, the last known male of his species left in Paraguay.
Coco is an endangered hyacinth macaw, known in Paraguayan Spanish as a "papagayo azul." Scientists estimated several years ago that only 6,500 were left in the wild, mostly in an area of neighboring Brazil that is quickly losing natural habitat for the birds.
Capturing and exporting the macaws is illegal, and Coco was sent to the zoo eight years ago after authorities broke up a gang of animal traffickers. Only recently did a DNA test show he's male, zoo veterinarian Cristiane Rainner said in an interview.
To avoid mixing species, the zoo has had to keep him apart from other macaws, which has left him lonely and a bit bored, Rainner said.
"He's quite sociable, although he's only learned to say 'hello.' But when he hears the cumbia, he dances," Rainner said.
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Coco, who has a yellow circle around his eyes that sets off the rest of his blue feathers, is known to scientists as Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus. It's more or less a cousin to "Blu," the Spix's macaw (Cyanopsitta spixii) that stars in the animated movie "Rio."
Because international laws against animal trafficking are now so strict, few institutions in other countries are willing to lend the Paraguay zoo a female and that would require approval from international species protection officials in Geneva, said Cristina Morales of the group Birds of Paraguay.
"The ideal is to keep looking for a match in Paraguay," she said.
