The re-introduction of the red-billed curassow at Reserva Ecológica de Guapiaçu, Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil

Summary

The red-billed curassow (Crax blumenbachii), a globally endangered Atlantic forest bird with no sub-population exceeding 250 adults, vanished from Rio de Janeiro state's forests around the 1960s through hunting and habitat loss, though prior re-introductions had succeeded in Minas Gerais state since 1991. In August 2006, Crax Brasil and the Reserva Ecológica de Guapiaçu (REGUA), a roughly 5,500 hectare protected remnant of Atlantic Rain Forest within the larger Três Picos State Park, began re-introducing captive-bred birds sourced from Crax Brasil's long-running breeding centre. Selected sites near water and fruiting trees held a release pen where birds acclimated for about 40 days before release, and all individuals were fitted with 46 gram backpack radio transmitters, chosen after trials against necklace and tail-mount designs for their durability and fit, giving 2.5 years of tracking to study movement, home range, pairing, and survival. REGUA's eight park rangers and environmental education programs running since 2000 supported both site protection and community awareness ahead of release. Major difficulties included four curassow deaths from semi-wild dogs belonging to nearby residents over 17 months, licensing delays for transporting birds, and two females becoming unusually tame near local communities. Since the released birds were still immature at reporting time, with breeding not expected until the 2008 to 2009 season, the project explicitly declined to assign a success rating, noting only that 17 of 38 released birds remained alive after 18 months, a survival rate it considered a promising sign for eventual success.