The Forest contains rare wildlife including the Puerto Rican
Parrot (Amazona vittata), which is one of the ten most endangered species of
birds in the world. This parrot is small, about a foot in length, bright green,
with red forehead, and blue wing feathers.
It lived on Puerto Rico's forests with
the Taíno Indians for over a thousand years. After the European
colonization, deforestation started to make way for cities and agriculture. These
birds need large hollow tree trunks for nesting. The destruction of their
native habitat forced the parrot to move to the remaining parts of the forest
that were not the optimal. Hurricanes, crop protection, hunting, natural
enemies and nest robbing have also contributed to the dramatic decline in parrot
population. By the middle of the last
century, the Puerto Rican Parrot was a threatened species, very close to extinction.
Many efforts are still being made to save this important bird. Today, there are
about less than 50 parrots flying free but every year some of the captive ones
are released with good surviving rates!
