The loyal and smart B&G Macaw

By Shaidathul Suhana Ros

JOHOR BAHRU, March 16  -- The ‘smarter’ a Blue-and-Gold-Macaw (B&G Macaw) is, the more expensive the parrot is, in fact, the price could reach up to RM25,000, according to enthusiasts.

Rasidi Mohamad, 45, attributed enthusiasts’ willingness to spend thousands just for a B&G Macaw to several factors, such as  its intelligence, talking ability and close bonding to humans as well as loyalty.

“This bird has a strong ‘instinct’. Food is the key to train a B&G Macaw to obey a command. Its loyalty is unmatched - although we let them fly freely, they will come back. 

“Many may not know that B&G Macaws are quite tame and they can also talk quite well; these have prompted me to keep them as a pet,” he told Bernama when met at the Free Fly: B&G Macaw programme at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia here, recently.

Rasidi said he has two B&G macaws which he bought from a bird breeder in Kelantan.

Rico, aged three was bought for RM8,000, while one-year-old Kenji was priced at RM7,000, he said.

The B&G Macaw or ‘Ara ararauna’ is a large South American parrot that has blue wings and golden underparts. It can grow up to 86 cm and weigh up to 3.9 kg, and live for up to 60 years.

For the record, the B&G macaw is categorised as a wildlife animal, and those who want to own one must obtain a special permit or licence from the Department of Wildlife and National Parks, as provided for under the Wildlife Conservation Act 2010.

Another B&G Macaw enthusiast Datuk Mohd Fairuz Mohamed Said, 34, who treated the parrot as his own family, said that he had spent RM60,000 for the purpose of getting the permit and setting up a mini zoo at his house for the ‘comfort’ of the bird.

The information technology entrepreneur said that the bird species requires close attention and care when it was small because it could easily die when its crop was injured, apart from having to be fed with anti-worm medicine every three to six months.

“These birds will feel stressed if they are not given adequate time to play and they will make a loud noise and begin plucking their feathers. It is better to train or play with them for at least half an hour every day in addition to giving it enough food,” he added.

-- BERNAMA