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Approaching a male Quetzal (Pharamachrus mocinno).
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The quetzal, a bird originally from the rainforests
of Mexico, Guatemala,
Costa Rica, and Panama. It possesses,
undoubtedly, a profound symbolic meaning:
The Mayas considered it to be a sacred bird,
the kings used
headdresses with feathers extracted from
its tail, like the famous plume of
the Aztec emperor Moctezuma, and Guatemala adopted it as a symbol of libety.
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It's surrounded by history, myth, and a threat: they're in serious danger of extinction. Till a few years ago, it was thought that, due to its characteristics, the Pharamachrus Mocinno the Quetzal's scientific name meaning “big throat” could not survive in captivity. However, a Mexican ornithologist, specialized in illnesses and physiology of birds and current director of the Conservation Program of Mexico's National University, has demonstrated the opposite.
After a while of investigating the metabolism and the behavior of these birds, Jesus Estudillo Lopez made possible the procreation and breeding of several specimens in captivity, thus possibly avoiding the future definite extinction
of the specie. The first step has been breaking a series of speculations about the impossibility of the Quetzal's survival outside its natural habitat. That only happens when the proper survival conditions are unknown, given that the
specie's excessive fragility allows no errors. Also, due to their stressful nature they require wide spaces where they fly and feel protected. In a 50x40m and 8m high greenhouse, Estudillo managed to create an almost exact replica of the Chimalapas ñ a forest located between the Mexican states of Oaxaca and Chiapas -, where a few specimen still live in today.
A few varieties of vegetables were introduced to the region, such as bromeliads, orchids, lichens and tree-like ferns. The quetzals also get to share their space with the other species that live in areas of similar conditions, such as peacocks, originally from Chiapas, or the imperial pigeon from New Guinea, among others.
The hand of the Mexican ornithologist, Jesus Estudillo, feeding one of his Quetzals in captivity. Taken in the La Siberia “farm”, where he has the most important private aviary in the world with approximately 600 species of birds in 10 ha.
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Bromeliads and ferns, originally from Chiapas, Mexico. Their presence is important for the survival of the quetzals. Their state serves as reference about the general climatic conditions of the habitat.
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The Valley of Mexico possesses the proper climatic characteristics and height for the Quetzal, which inhabits high mountain zones where the climate isn't too hot or too cold. What was most difficult was to solve the problem of humidity, given that these birds live in a constantly humid environments swinging around seventy and eighty percent.
On the contrary, they become victims of strong lung diseases; a fungus infection for example kills it immediately, that's why a humidistat is used; when humidity goes down, a switch is turned on and the spray nozzles generate the necessary humidity.
Another fundamental point that was considered were the inconveniences with respect to its alimentation: the iron found both in animal and vegetal proteins is not assimilated by its organism and causes it to die, which does not occur in its natural habitat. The investigation carried out by the scientist was concluded with the following observation: The Quetzals drink the water that accumulates in the bromeliads and orchids and, instinctively, don't ever leave the jungle. They almost never drink water from the ground, except in times of drought when water accumulates in cavities in the ground covered by leaves; the liquid then contains tannin, also called tannic acid, which neutralizes the iron. It was decided then to avoid iron in its diet, to add now and then a few drops of tannic acid.
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