Golden Conure Survival Fund/Golden Conure History

History

The Golden Conure is also known as the Queen of Bavaria’s Conure, and the Golden Parakeet. Until recently it was categorized as Aratinga guarouba but is now categorized as Guaruba guarouba. Although it has been considered endangered since the mid 1940s (Forshaw 379) it has never been formally studied as its range was considered to be so remote that it was out of harm’s way.

In early 1970s construction began on the Tucuruí dam, which on completion flooded 888 square miles of rain forests (Low 183). The construction of the dam further evoked the construction of 2 major highways and a proliferation of human colonization around its borders (WCD 4,5). Along the Transamazon highway the resettlement process consumed 100,675 hectares. Bordering another road that parallels the right side of the reservoir another 311,025 hectares were deforested for relocation of displaced forest colonists (WCD 32). Just these two areas of resettlement alone have depleted 411,700 hectares or 1,017,310 acres of rain forest.

Seventy one percent of the total deforestation occurring in Brazil since 1977 has taken place in the northeastern regions where the Golden Conures reside. All but 13% of that 71% has occurred since 1988. It has resulted in a total loss of more than 37 million acres of rain forests or 71/2 times the area covered by the state of New Jersey. Not only has this resulted in dramatic loss of rain forests, but it has also given easy access for trappers to a species that was once considered to be out of harm’s way. The Brazilian states of Maranhâo, Mato Grosso, Tocantins, and Pará have some of the highest concentrations of Golden Conures. As you can see from the chart below, they also have some of the heaviest concentrations of deforestation.

Brazilian State	77/88*	88/89	89/90	90/91	91/92	92/94**	94/95	95/96	96/97	Totals	Square Miles
Acre	620	540	550	380	400	482	1208	433	358	4,971	1,919.00
Amapa	60	130	250	410	36	0	9	0	18	913	353
Amazonas	1510	1180	520	980	799	370	2114	1023	589	9,085	3,507
Maranhao	2450	1420	1100	670	1135	372	1745	1061	409	10,362	4,000
Mato Grosso	5140	5960	4020	2840	4674	6220	10391	6543	5271	51,059	19,714
Para	6990	5750	4890	3780	3787	4284	7845	6135	4139	47,600	18,378
Rondonia	2340	1430	1670	1110	2265	2595	4730	2432	1986	20,558	7,937
Roraima	290	630	150	420	281	240	220	214	184	2,629	1,015
Tocantins	1650	730	580	440	409	333	797	320	273	5,532	2,136
Amazonia/Total	21050	17770	13730	11030	13786	14896	29059	18161	13227	152,709	58,961

*Average for Decade
**Average for Period
Data is per km2
Satellite data supplied by the Brazilian Institute of Space Research. Satellite data DOES NOT include areas of deforestation less than 6 hectare (14.862 acres). Deforestation on this scale may be attributed to selective logging and forest settlements. It is estimated that forest colonists clear about 4 ha/year/family (1 ha=2.471 acres). 97/98 was estimated at a 27% increase over 96/97.

Top