Macaws come from other macaws, and sometimes scientists need or want to help the process along. This study reveals some of the secrets to making it happen:
“Training large macaws for artificial insemination procedures,” Frédérique Leblanc, Géraldine Pothet, Michel Saint Jalme, Mathieu Dorval & Dalila Bovet [pictured here], Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science, vol. 14, no. 3, 2011, pp. 187-210. The authors, at Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle (MNHN), Paris, and at Université Paris Ouest Nanterre La Défense, Nanterre, France, report:
“The aim of this experiment was to train large macaws to accept the physical manipulations of their body parts needed for the artificial insemination process. Within 15 weeks, a male and a female Buffon’s macaw (Ara ambiguus) learned to accept handling without apparent stress. A pair of green-winged macaws (Ara chloropterus) progressed more slowly and displayed some signs of stress. This stress highlights the need to monitor the birds’ possible signs of discomfort during the training in order to adapt the working protocol. These results demonstrate that it is possible to train the AI [artificial insemination] behaviors, thus avoiding the capture, restraint, and anesthesia. An added benefit to this is the potential for the training to provide a form of behavioral enrichment.”
BONUS: Dr. Bovet also works with pigeons (and, need we add, collaborates with humans). A July 2, 2011 press release from the Society of Experiment Biology tells of her recent discovery, with colleagues, that “feral, untrained pigeons can recognise individual people and are not fooled by a change of clothes.” The press release’s headline goes overboard, proclaiming “Pigeons never forget a face.” (Thanks to investigator Scott Langill for bringing this to our attention.)