The challenge of managing Spix Macaws (Cyanopsitta spixii) at Qatar - an eleven-year retrospection

This article summarizes the experience of 11 years Spix's Macaw captive management in Al Wabra Wildlife Preservation (AWWP)/Qatar. Details on AWWP's acquisition of Spix's Macaws, research, breeding management, demographics, diet, housing, veterinary work, behavioural enrichment and problems are described and explained. At the end we discuss the future prospects and plans related to this species in AWWP. To our knowledge, at the time of writing, 87 Spix's macaws are existing in captivity, 75 of them participate in the international breeding program, initiated and managed by the “Institute Chico Mendes of Biodiversity Conservation (ICMBio)”, the Brazilian environmental agency. In 2011, 55 of these breeding program birds live at AWWP in Qatar.