For The Past 20 Years Or So,

the only wild macaw in Rio de Janeiro,

almost daily flies to the zoo in the metropolis to socialize with other macaws, photograph Christopher Kuszajewski/Pixabay, macaws are social birds, so loneliness is a problem for the bird called Juliet, a beautiful blue-and-yellow macaw who calls Rio home. She is the only wild specimen seen in city since 1818, and no one really knows much about her, Zoo staff named the bird Juliet, but they don’t even know if she is actually female, all that everyone knows is that Juliet loves coming to the zoo every morning to be with others of her species. Sometimes she engages in grooming behaviour through the metal fence, other times she just sits there simply enjoying the company, before flying off for the rest of the day, macaws have an average life expectancy of about 35 years, and Juliet has been around for at least two decades, yet, she has never had a mate, built a nest or had chicks, and she probably never will, because there’s just no one to do it with, 

 “They’re social birds, and that means they don’t like to live alone, whether in nature or captivity. They need company,” Neiva Guedes, president of the Hyacinth Macaw Institute, told AP, adding that Juliet “very probably feels lonely, and for that reason goes to the enclosure to communicate and interact.” luckily, there is hope for Rio’s loneliest bird. Through Refauna, an initiative which reintroduces species into protected areas, scientists want to raise some 20 chicks that will receive training on wild food sources, as well as predator and power line avoidance, before being released into the wild, the birds will be released into Rio de Janeiro’s giant Tijuca Forest National Park, where Juliet is believed to spend her nights. Scientists hope the birds will help maintain balance in the local eco-system, by using their big beaks to crack seeds that other birds can’t, thus dispersing those seeds, but they will also become welcome company for Juliet, allowing her to fly with others of her kind for the first time in 20 years, and who knows, she might even find a toy boy!