Scientist Rescues a Young Parrot From the Invasive Boa’s Claws

On the Caribbean island of Puerto Rico, a biologist recently rescued the young representative of a threatened bird species from a certain death. An incident illustrating the scourge posed by invasive species.

Narrow Escape

Although it is now illegal to own a boa constrictor as a pet in Puerto Rico, the damage has been done for a long time. Reproducing rapidly, these non-native snakes also tend to target species that are already endangered.

Among them is the Puerto Rican parrot, or Amazona, of Puerto Rico (Amazona vittata). Recognizable by its green plumage accented with red and blue touches, this bird is classified as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, with an estimated wild population of only a few hundred individuals.

A few days ago, biologist Raúl Correa was alerted by the cries of a group of A. vittata while he was in the Maricao forest. When he arrived on site, he discovered an adult, fairly sizeable boa constrictor coiled around a young parrot. After cutting the bamboo stalk to which the reptile and its prey were attached, he quickly freed the bird.

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Kept under observation for a night, the young parrot fared well the next day and was able to rejoin its flock. Not so lucky, its attacker was euthanized and then sent to a laboratory tasked with determining its diet.

A True Ecological Scourge

Not long ago, the native boa (Chilabothrus inornatus) was the largest snake found in Puerto Rico, with individuals typically measuring between 1 and 2 meters. The situation shifted in the 1990s when the larger boa constrictor was introduced to the region, most likely through the wildlife trade.

Over the following decades, this invasive species became a major ecological threat to the local fauna. Tending to “steal” the prey of other native predators, these snakes have also introduced viruses potentially deadly to certain endemic reptile species.

“Isolated island ecosystems are particularly vulnerable to snake invasions, and Puerto Rico has no natural predators capable of limiting their spread,” notes the United States Geological Survey. “Humans are responsible for introducing this scourge, and they are also the only ones who can stop it.”

A quite similar situation is observed in Florida, with Burmese pythons capable of reaching rather impressive sizes.