Zoo Buddy: Catalina Macaws!

MONROE, La. (KNOE) - Meet Peaches! She’s a Catalina Macaw at the Louisiana Purchase Gardens and Zoo in Monroe.

Lisa Taylor, General Curator at the Louisiana Purchase Gardens and Zoo, says this type of Macaw was bred for the pet trade and the likelihood of finding one in the wild is low. Catalina Macaws are a mix of a Blue and Yellow Macaw and a Scarlet Macaw.

Taylor says Peaches is like most macaws.

“They’re omnivores, they like to eat the plants, seeds, fruits, and vegetables, and all that good stuff,” says Taylor. “They have the basic structure of a macaw, they can get anywhere from three feet long from the tip of their head to the tip of their tail and their wingspan can get up to four feet wide.”

They’re very important for the ecosystem too because they disperse seeds throughout the rainforest creating new plants.

“They do live in flocks of 10-30, so you become their flock when you take them in as a pet,” says Taylor. “So they’ll become very social with you and then they can be territorial with you and not want people to be around you. Number two, their pitch is so high when they make their squawk it’s actually over 100 decibels which is like the equivalent of being at a rock concert. And they have a vocabulary of about 15 words.”

They’ve also got a long lifespan.

“You’re looking at 60 years with this type of bird. They are beautiful and they can be very rewarding to you, but remember you may have to will your bird to someone, they can outlive you.”

Plus, she says their tongues are a very useful part of their anatomy.

“Their tongues are very dry and scaly, not only do they use them for taste but they manipulate their food like their seeds, chewing on bark, things like that.”

You can visit the Louisiana Purchase Gardens and Zoo Monday through Sunday from 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.

The Annual Easter Eggstravaganza is also coming up on April 1st! Food trucks and vendors will be set up from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the zoo. They’ll also have easter egg hunt times between 11 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. Visit the zoo’s Facebook page for more information or to sign up as a food/shopping vendor.

Copyright 2023 KNOE. All rights reserved.